Angel Eyes
by KaraiAtsuiJoo
Summary: After the fall of Schwartz, the four men of Weiß are working to restore things to normal, but are finding the process more difficult than expected. More details inside. Chapters 19 and the epilogue posted. Story complete!
1. Awaken

**Summary**: Not too long after the fall of Schwarz, the four men of Weiß work to restore things to normal. It isn't long before they're contacted by Birman with the news that new dangers are already resurfacing. Yohji, Aya, Ken and Omi accept the challenge, battling their own demons as well as four they were sure perished with the three elder members of Eszett.

**Warnings**: This story contains yaoi and mild violence. It is also partly a song fic, I believe. Please use discretion in reading should you choose to continue.

**Disclaimer**: This story is not meant to be construed as a claim to ownership of the anime Weiss Kreuz in any form. Also, the song Angeleyes was written, produced and sung by the members of ABBA. This story is not meant to be construed as a claim to ownership of said song in any form.

Please enjoy.

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As she watched the sun dawn on the waters in front of her, as the cross that marked the water with the fall of her friends dissipated, as Aya stood by her side, newly free of her coma, Sakura knew she would see them again.

_M1_: **Awaken**

Someone was typing. It felt oddly familiar. He could feel his hands moving where they lay, as if he were the one pressing the keys. Except the one who was typing was slow. He remembered being fast at it, good at it. Experienced. It made him feel good about himself, knowing that he was good at something. Especially good because he could remember.

He opened his eyes. At first, the only thing he could perceive was bright light. But slowly, he came to see that he was in a small room with white walls. There was someone to the right of him, and they were higher. They were turned the other way. He turned his attention elsewhere. He was warm and realized that someone was behind him. He didn't want to get up; he was comfortable. He snuggled into the bed, noticing that his head was resting on a pillow. He closed his eyes again. It felt nice, wherever he was. He wanted to go to sleep again. The typing ceased.

"**Yo**, _chibi_." His eyes popped open. "Nice to see you're finally up." It was the man who was higher than him. He was sitting on a chair, and was facing him now. He wore a silly grin on his face, and his hair was cropped at his shoulders and slightly unkempt. The first thing that came to mind was Yohji, and so that is what he said.

"Yohji-_kun_…" The man was apparently Yohji, as his grin grew and he turned back to the computer without a complaint. Ah. A computer. Things were slowly coming back to him. "_Doko_…o_re wa_…?"

"You're home," Yohji said. He began to type again. Home? He sat up. When he moved his feet over the side of the bed, they hit the floor instantly. The bed was on the floor. So that was why Yohji was so high. He bent his knees in front of him and looked around again.

The room wasn't as small as he originally perceived; it was just that the ceiling slanted with the roof and was low. On the floor in front of the bed was a cup half full of water, several remotes and several pieces of clothing. Stacked at the end of the bed, was a thick hardcover book, a sketch book, and several small, thin boxes. Next to that was a small decorative cup with several different types of pencils, erasers and pens sticking out of it. He looked back over to Yohji. Yohji had nice hair. He remembered there was someone behind him and so he turned slowly to see who it was.

It was another man. He looked different than Yohji. He had dark brown hair, just as nice, and he wasn't as pale. His expression was relaxed, probably because he was asleep. But he looked younger than Yohji in that respect. He reached his hand over to touch the other man.

"Ken-_kun_…" he said, without much thought. The man stirred.

"Let him sleep," Yohji told him. "He was up all night."

"_Naze_?"

"Waiting for you to come to." The boy nodded, and then looked up at Yohji.

"Um…Yohji-_kun_…?"

"_Nani_?"

"Who…who am I?" Yohji perked, and the boy was afraidthathe said something he shouldn't have. He pulled his legs closer to himself. Yohji turned to him slowly, rolling the chair towards him slightly. He looked at him with serious eyes as he leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.

"You're Omi," he said. "Tsukiyono Omi."

"Oh," Omi said. He liked that name. Yohji still stared at him.

"You know who am I, but you don't know who you are?" he asked. Omi thought about that, and it didn't take him long to realize it was true.

"Yes…" he said. "Maybe…I just need to see myself," he said. "In…a mirror."

"Hmm…" Yohji said. He stood and walked across the room to a door. He looked at Omi. "Let's go," he said. "And watch your head." Omi stood up and watched his head as he was told. He followed Yohji from the room. Yohji was tall, and Omi was short. Omi didn't have to bend his head at all, whereas Yohji had to walk slightly leaned over. It was a short walk across the room to where the head of the stairs was. There was a partial height wall there as a banister, and they rounded it to go down the stairs.

At the bottom, there was another door. The walls were all white in the room with the stairs, but on the first floor, the walls were beige. The bathroom was a few feet to the right of the door they exited. Yohji opened the door and led Omi inside. Omi went in and looked around. The bathroom was pink. He realized he didn't like the color pink. The floor was cold, and he looked down and saw that he was barefoot. He sighed. He remembered he didn't like having his feet bare that way.

The mirror was to the left of him. It was a large vanity mirror, vertically separated into three sections. Omi saw everything in the mirror before he saw himself. There were two large, shiny, dark blue eyes staring back at him. Long, thick curling eyelashes. Puffy pink cheeks. Thin, straight nose. Slightly thin lips with a curious pout. Shiny tannish-orange hair, puffing out from his scalp in a thick fountain of strands. He reached up and touched his face in various spots. He didn't look familiar to himself, but…

"Hey…" he said. "I'm kinda cute." Yohji shook his head at him. He reached over and closed the door, then pointed at it. There was a long mirror on the door. Omi checked out his body. He was a bit scrawny, not as muscular as Yohji. He raised his white t-shirt and looked at his stomach and chest, then looked at Yohji, who wasn't wearing a shirt, to compare. He nodded to himself and turned around to check out the backside. Hm. Nice calves. He nodded again. "**Ok**," he said and looked at Yohji.

"Nothing?" Yohji asked.

"Nothing?" Omi asked, confused.

"You…still don't know who you are?"

"Sure I do," Omi said. "I'm Omi. I'm 5'4", about 115 pounds or so…brown hair, blue eyes. Omi." Yohji looked concerned. "I…like to type," Omi said encouragingly.

"We need to have a talk," Yohji said. "All of us."

"All of us?" Omi asked. "Who's…all of us…?"

"You know who I am, don't you?" Images of Yohji next to women appeared in Omi's mind.

"Yeah," Omi said, chuckling a little. "You're Yohji. You think you're hot stuff." Suddenly, Omi felt anxious. He saw a string float by in his mind. He shook his head. Yohji nodded, smiling a little.

"Yeah…that's me," he said. "And…you remember Ken?"

"Ken-_kun_," Omi said, and immediately, a soccer ball came to mind. "He likes sports. He used to play soccer." Again, the anxious feeling returned, and he saw five shiny claws slash in his mind. He blinked the image away.

"Right, right," Yohji said, patting his shoulder. "That's right. And Aya? Do you remember Aya?" A tall, lean man with brilliant red hair came to mind. He was watering flowers.

"Oh, Aya…" Omi said, nodding rapidly. "Yes. His…sister… I remember he wants his sister." Yohji nodded slowly.

"Perfect," he said. Omi closed his eyes. Suddenly, a long, shiny sword flashed through his mind. He shook his head. Why was he seeing those things, anyway? "And…what do you see…when you think of Omi…?"

"Uh…me?" Omi asked. He was faceless in his mind. It frightened him. "That's weird…" he said. He could see someone moving around several rows of flowers. He perceived it to be himself, but he couldn't see himself. The person there was just a blur. "I don't know. I see flowers…" Darts. His heart began to speed up. There were darts all around him suddenly. Without control, Omi's hand closed with the fingers slightly spread. He moved back and flung his hand out towards the door. Then he stopped and looked at Yohji, pulling his hand to his chest. "Darts…" he said, breathing harder than usual. "Poison…darts…" Yohji nodded slowly again. "Why…do I see darts?"

"_Daijōbu_, Omi," Yohji said. "It's all right. You don't have to be afraid." Was he afraid? Omi looked down at himself. He was still breathing hard. He _was_ scared, wasn't he? He shook his head and looked at Yohji.

"I wanna talk," he said. "I…wanna see you guys again."

"We will," Yohji said. "As soon as Aya gets back." Omi nodded and looked around again. Seeing the toilet, he realized he needed to use it. And he needed to brush his teeth as well.

"I…I have to pee," he told Yohji. Yohji moved towards the door. Omi stood in front of the toilet and stared at it. He knew how to pee, but something was wrong. Yohji moved over to him and lifted the seat. Ah…now it looked right. "Thanks…" he said with an embarrassed chuckle.

"Good luck." Omi used the bathroom and washed his hands. He went to the mirror again. It felt natural to reach for the mirror, and so he did. He touched the mirror, and forgot what he wanted to do. He left the bathroom in search for Yohji. Yohji was standing outside of it, waiting.

"Minty fresh?" Yohji asked. Omi snapped his finger.

"That's right," he said and went back in the bathroom. He pulled open one of the mirrors and looked inside. Razors, shaving cream, pain medicine, aftershave. He didn't think he needed any of those things.

"The one on the right, Omi," Yohji said. Omi nodded and opened the right one. There were the toothbrushes. "The pink one."

"Why do I have a pink toothbrush?" Omi asked, taking his from the cup.

"Ken thought it would be best if he bought them all in a pack. They're all the same, just different colors." Omi smirked at him.

"If that's the case, why didn't _you_ take the pink one?"

"Some of us have reputations to uphold." Omi picked up the tube of toothpaste and unscrewed the cap. He squirted some on his toothbrush and began to brush his teeth. "Don't swallow," Yohji said.

"I know," Omi said. He spat in the sink and brushed again. It felt familiar. More importantly, his teeth were beginning to feel clean. He had no idea why he was comforted by that. When he finished and put his toothbrush away, he turned to Yohji and looked at him expectantly. "What now?" he asked.

"It's up to you, Omi. What do you want to do?"

"Eat, I think."

"We can do that. We should wait for Aya, though."

"Where is he?"

"Checking in on his sister." Omi nodded and looked down.

"I see. She's still in the hospital, then?"

"No," Yohji said. "She's up now, alive and well. She works with Momoe-_san_ now." Omi recognized that name. He smiled, remembering her.

"How are they?" he asked.

"I don't know. I haven't been back myself."

"Well…how come?" Yohji shook his head and looked away. "I'd like to go back."

"None of us have really returned there."

"But…Aya…"

"He watches her from a distance…" Yohji said. "She doesn't know he's there." Omi nodded slowly. That saddened him.

"How can he…stay away? If she were my sister, I'd…" Omi felt extremely sad suddenly. "Ouka…" he said. "Ouka…" Yohji patted his shoulder.

"It's okay, Omi. Here, why don't you have a seat?" Omi shook his head.

"I'm ok," he said. But he had the image of Ouka in his mind. He felt terrible.

"You want to go upstairs?"

"Ken's sleeping, I don't want to bother him."

"It's your room, you know?"

"Oh. Why's it so big? I don't need a room that big. I don't own anything."

"You own plenty," Yohji said. "You just need to get reacquainted, that's all." Omi nodded.

"Let's go upstairs, then." Omi followed Yohji back up the stairs to his bedroom. The room looked larger from the door. There were two windows on the facing wall. The computer desk was in front of one and the television stand was in front of the other. The box spring of the bed was in the left corner of the room and there was a dresser against the wall to the right of Omi. The mattress was on the floor in front of the television. Ken was still asleep there. "Why's the bed on the floor?" Omi asked.

"I have no idea," Yohji said. "It was like that when I came in here." Omi went over to the bed and sat down. Ken stirred. Omi looked at the pile of books by the bed.

"What's all this stuff?" he asked. He slid the sketchbook from the pile and flipped through it.

"That's Ken's," Yohji said. "He's quite the artist. You think you know someone, you know?" Omi looked at Yohji and shook his head. Yohji shook his head, too. "Never mind." Omi stopped on one page, seeing a large cross with sharp ends. Inside were the letters w e i s s. Weiss? Omi felt like it was familiar.

"Yohji-_kun_?"

"Yeah?"

"What's _Weiß_?" Yohji stared at Omi for a long time. Omi continued to look through the book. "Look, here it is again." Omi showed him the page. "_Weiß_," hesaid again.

"It's "vice"," Ken said. Omi turned to look at him.

"Hey," he said. Ken breathed in deep and sat up.

"What are you doing with that?" he asked.

"Nothing," Omi said, and he closed the book quickly. He sat it down on the floor and bent his knees up to his chin.

"It's okay if you want to look at it, Omi," Ken said. "I don't mind." Ken looked over to Yohji. "So…what's going on? Why…?"

"Omi just needs a little push in the right direction, that's all," Yohji said. "It'll all come back to him."

"Oh…" Omi picked the book up again and looked through it. Ken scooted over and sat next to him. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm okay. I'm a little hungry, though."

"Is Aya back?" Ken asked Yohji. Yohji shook his head.

"Not yet. He shouldn't be too much longer." Ken stood up and stretched.

"I'm gonna go shower, then," he said.

"Right," Yohji said. Omi came across the word again as Ken left.

"Why won't you tell me what it means?" he asked.

"I want you to remember on your own."

"But…" Yohji looked at him.

"What?"

"I…I'm concerned."

"About what?"

"About…" Omi looked around. "All of this. Why…? How come I can't remember some things, while other things are really clear?"

"You just need exposure, Omi, that's all. Give it time; it'll all come back to you." Omi nodded. He had the feeling it would. When the pages became blank, Omi sat the book down again. He looked at the television stand. There was a VCR, a DVD player and a cable box. Yohji was on the computer again. Omi scooted over on the bed to see what he was doing. He was online.

"You don't have a computer?" Omi asked.

"I didn't know you'd mind."

"I'd mind?" Omi asked. "Oh…no, I don't. You can play my computer all you want. I was just wondering."

"I don't have one," Yohji said. "Only you and Ken."

"I see." Omi rested his chin on his knees. "So, Yohji-_kun_?"

"Yeah?"

"This…isn't where I used to live, is it?"

"No. This place is brand new."

"Why'd we move?"

"We used to live at the flower shop, remember? We thought it'd be best to stay away from there for the time."

"I see." Omi stood up and went over to his dresser. He opened the first drawer and looked inside. The clothes looked familiar, but he wasn't too fond of them.

"Who…picked these out?" Omi asked. Yohji chuckled.

"You," he said. "Those are all yours."

"Oh." Omi chuckled a little and closed the drawer. He went through each drawer, stopping when he got to the bottom one. Yohji turned to him. Omi reached inside. There was a large bow and tens of boxes all closed up. There were also clothes, neatly folded. Omi picked up the bow and looked it over. It felt right to hold it, but there was some odd feeling there as well. He shrugged and put it back.

He picked up one of the smaller boxes and flipped it open. Darts. Omi had a sudden flash in his mind, but he couldn't make out what he saw. It was dark, and there were people around. The moon was bright. That was all he could remember. He set the box back in the drawer then moved over to the clothes. Now these were much better than the others. Dark blue was a color he liked. But something about the clothes made him want to put them away. He turned to Yohji. Yohji looked as if he was deep in thought.

"What is all this stuff?" Omi asked.

"You remember, Omi," Yohji said. "I know you do." Omi turned back to the drawer and felt along the clothes and the boxes. The flash occurred in his mind again, and it lasted a little longer this time. He could make out that there were exactly three people standing near him, all men. One of them was Yohji. Omi turned back to Yohji and stood up.

"Why won't you just tell me?" he asked.

"I want you to try and remember on your own," Yohji said. "I don't want to give you all the answers." Omi folded his arms.

"Maybe Ken will tell me," he said.

"Sure he will, but I'll tell you this. It's not like you to take the easy way out." Omi thought about that and unfolded his arms. Something told him that Yohji was right. "I'll guide you, but I'm not going to tell you everything," Yohji said. "You're a bright guy, Omi. You're going to get through this in no time." Omi nodded. Yohji's words made him feel empowered. Sure, he could do it on his own. Omi closed the drawer and left the room quickly. "_Oi_…Omi!" Yohji called after him.

"I'll be right back!" Omi exclaimed as he shot down the stairs. He reached the bottom and tried to turn the door. It didn't open and he hit the door before he could stop himself. He stood there for a moment and rubbed his head where he'd bumped it, then opened the door and stepped out. Ken had just opened the bathroom door fresh out of his shower. He was wearing a robe and a towel was wrapped around his head.

"Hey," he said, opening the door between the stair door and the bathroom door. "Where are you off to?"

"Oh, I don't know," Omi said. "I just want to look around."

"Oh, ok."

"This is your room?" Omi asked.

"Yeah," Ken said. "Wanna take a look?"

"Sure." Omi followed Ken into his room. He looked around. Ken's room was simple and small. There was a bed in one corner, a TV stand in another and a dresser across from the bed. Ken had posters of pictures he'd drawn on his walls. Omi gaped at them for a while. "You're really good," he said.

"Thanks," Ken said. Omi looked at Ken and grinned.

"Thanks," he said and walked out of the room. There was a door directly across from Ken's room. Omi walked over and put his hand on the knob.

"You shouldn't go in there," Ken said. "That's Aya's room."

"What's wrong with it?" Omi asked.

"Aya…likes his privacy."

"Oh…I see." Omi shrugged. "Ok." Ken closed his door. Omi walked across the short hall into the living room. There was a simple arrangement of furniture: a couch, an armchair, an entertainment system, and a few bookcases. There was a large window with the shades drawn. Through it, Omi could see the front lawn.

There was a welcome mat in the tiny foyer, and a small closet. Omi walked around the living room. There was also a coffee table, and on the table were bite sized chocolate candies. Omi grabbed a handful and went from the living room into the kitchen.

The kitchen was pink and green. Omi craved the chocolate while he stood in there. He walked over to the sink and looked inside. The dishes were all done. He peeled the wrapper from one of the pieces of chocolate and popped it in his mouth. He crossed the room and looked through the cabinets. They were fully stocked. Omi felt like he was starving.

He reached into the cabinets above the stove. He selected a box of cereal, took it out and opened it. Then he went to the refrigerator. There were two bottles of milk, one gallon of whole milk and a half gallon of skim milk. Omi made a face and went for the whole milk. He took a bowl and spoon from the dish drain at the sink and made himself a bowl of cereal. He put everything away and looked out the large bay window on the other side of the room where a table and four chairs sat. He could see out into the street through the shades, and all the houses beyond it. The neighborhood looked pretty nice from what he could see.

He turned and walked through the kitchen to the back stairs. There, there was a door leading out into the driveway, which stretched across the length of that side of the house. Continuing down the stairs, Omi reached the basement. He pushed back a closed curtain and looked around. There was a room there, and it was nicely set up. He figured it to be Yohji's room, and he could see why Yohji chose it. There was a fireplace at the back of the room and abar on the other side of the room. There was a large circular bed straight ahead of Omi. Near the fireplace was a TV, and near the TV was a stereo system. Yohji owned many CDs and tapes and books. The tapes and books were among the type Omi remembered he wasn't supposed to look at, but hey. Why not?

By the time Omi heard Aya coming in through the side door, he'd finished his cereal and had come to the conclusion that sex was way too complicated for him. He put everything away and jogged up the stairs. Aya was carrying several bags with containers inside. He sat them on the table and looked out the window. Omi sat his bowl in the sink.

"Rinse that out," Aya scolded.

"Ok," Omi said. Aya turned to him quickly.

"Oh, Omi…" he said. "I didn't know it was you." Aya rushed over. Omi turned on the faucet.

"Hi, Aya," he said. Aya took the bowl from him.

"Don't worry about this," he said. "There's breakfast on the table, if you're still hungry."

"Thanks." Omi went over to the bags and looked at them. They smelled sweet. Omi's mouth began to water. He looked at Aya, who was looking at him.

"I can have anything?" he asked.

"Whatever you want," Aya said. He smiled. Omi noticed that the smile wasn't a familiar one. He smiled back despite it and turned back to the bags. Ken came into the kitchen.

"Hey, guys," he said. He opened the refrigerator door and pulled out a carton of orange juice.

"Where's Yohji? Downstairs?" Aya asked.

"No, he's in my room," Omi said. "I'll go get him."

"No, don't," Aya said. "I'll do it. You just relax yourself and…eat something." Omi nodded.

"Okay," he said. Aya left the kitchen. Omi looked at Ken.

"Why…do I have the biggest room?" Omi asked. Ken was already going through the containers.

"Well…" he said. "You've got the most floor space, but when it comes to head space…"

"Oh, I see. Because I'm the shortest?"

"Yep." Omi chuckled.

"Oh," he said. There were pancakes, toast, bacon, eggs, sausage links, and packets of jelly, butter and syrup. Omi began to drool. Ken laughed at him.

"Hungry, are we?" he asked. Omi nodded, staring at the food with enthusiasm. Ken took a sausage and chewed on it while he went towards the dish drain. He took two plates and handed one to Omi.

"Can I eat?" Omi asked.

"You can eat whatever you want."

"I know, Aya said so. But…should I?"

"Why wouldn't you?"

"I don't know. I just had some cereal."

"You haven't eaten a decent meal in a while, Omi, so go ahead." Omi nodded and waited for Ken to get his food. Ken looked at him, apparently waiting for Omi to go first. "Go ahead," Ken said again. Omi took one of everything, and a little bit of eggs. He sat down at the table and went to eat. There was something he needed first. What was it? He looked over at the dish drain, then stood and walked over to it. He looked it over.

"Hmm…" Omi pondered. He reached down and picked up a fork. No. That wasn't it, was it? Yeah. It was. He brought it with him over to the table and sat down. Ken plopped a container of syrup and one of butter in front of Omi's plate, then sat down at the table in the chair to the right of Omi's.

"For your pancakes," he said. Aya and Yohji came into the room. Yohji went past them and down the stairs. When he came back up, he was wearing a t-shirt. Aya had gotten his food and sat down across from Ken. Yohji didn't bother with a plate. He ate what was left straight from the containers. They ate in silence for the most part. Omi realized he didn't like silence. He wanted to talk, but he wasn't sure what to talk about. He decided since he hadn't seen Aya all day, he'd be the best one to talk to.

"So…Aya-_kun_?"

"What?" Aya asked.

"How's…Aya-_chan_, is it?"

"Aya…" Aya said. He looked down and picked through his eggs with his fork. "She's just fine."

"That's great," Omi said, smiling at him. "That's fantastic." Omi looked around the table. Yohji was struggling to open another packet of syrup and Ken was rolling a sausage in one of his pieces of toast. Omi ate a little more. He thought about Aya-_chan_ and the flower shop. He remembered what it looked like, the corner it stood on. He remembered Momoe as well. And, there was someone else. A woman. "Who do I know…" Omi began. "…whose hair is all red…and she wears socks with high heels…?" Yohji chuckled.

"Socks with heels," he said. "It's gotta be Manx."

"Manx!" Omi said, snapping his finger. "I knew it!" Ken laughed at him.

"What do you remember about her?" he asked.

"She…she's nice," Omi said. "Real nice. I talk with her a lot. She's really pretty, too. Big blue eyes." Aya looked at Omi.

"You don't remember her?" he asked.

"Sure I do," Omi said. "Am…am I wrong about her?" Aya went to speak, but Yohji stopped him.

"Aya," he said. "Omi's still having a little trouble remembering everything. He's doing pretty good so far, though. Right?" Aya looked at Omi.

"Do you know who we are?" he asked.

"Yes," Omi said. "You're my friends. You're Aya, Ken, and Yohji. My friends…" Aya didn't look happy with his answer. Omi looked at Ken and Yohji. Yohji was looking at Aya and Ken was distractedly picking at his food.

"Who are we?" Aya asked again. "You know the answer I'm looking for." Omi shook his head.

"If we're not friends, then…"

"Aya…" Yohji said. He shook his head at him, as if signaling him to stop. Aya looked angry suddenly. He sat down his fork loudly, scooted his chair back, and left the kitchen quickly. Omi watched him, confused.

"What…did I do wrong?" he asked. Yohji shook his head. He didn't look worried.

"Aya's just like that sometimes," Ken explained. "He wants you to just know everything, and that's not happening."

"But it's no big deal," Yohji said. "He'll get over it, and then we'll be one big happy family again."

"But, I thought we were going to talk," Omi said. "We…we _are_ friends, right?"

"Of course," Ken said, reaching over and shaking Omi's shoulder. "But we're also something else."

"What?" Omi asked.

"Remember what I told you earlier, about figuring it out on your own?" Yohji asked.

"_Weiß_?" Omi asked. "Is this about those drawings in your book?" Ken nodded. "And…I'm supposed to figure out what _Weiß_ is, then? And then Aya-_kun_ won't be mad at me?"

"Aya's not mad at you," Yohji said. "He's mad that you can't remember."

"He was afraid it would be that way," Ken said. "But you're doing great, I say." Omi smiled.

"Yeah," Yohji said. "You're doing just fine." Omi felt better. "Just let Aya steam off for a little while."

"Then I can talk to him?"

"Uh…well," Ken said. "Aya's a private person, even more so now than he used to be. You should just wait until he comes to you."

"Ok," Omi said. He sighed. "I just wish he had've stayed and finished eating. I'd hate to see his breakfast go cold." Ken smiled at him, then over to Yohji.

"Good ol' Omi," he said. Later, after breakfast, Omi went upstairs to his room. After glancing around a few times, he decided to get on his computer. Sitting in the chair, holding on to the mouse and looking at the screen was perhaps the most familiar set of actions he'd done all day. He liked it, he felt thrilled almost. He clicked open a game and played it, then played a different game. Then he went online. He was surprised that he remembered his password: b0mbae3. It didn't seem like the one he used to use. He found out the date and time and where in the world he was located very quickly. Then he checked out the word _Weiß_ in a search.

He got a lot of sites dealing with German and translation, and other sites that just had _Weiß_ somewhere in the title or on the site itself. Later in the search, he came across a website that dealt with old newspaper articles. What he saw had him occupied for hours. When he resurfaced around eight o'clock, he rushed down the stairs to Aya's room.

He knocked on the door, but didn't get an answer. He pressed his ear up to the door and didn't hear any sounds. He put his hand to the knob and looked around. There wasn't anyone there. He opened the door and looked inside.

"Aya-_kun_?" he asked. There was no answer. Omi felt along the wall for something and when he hit the switch and the light came on, he knew what that something was. Aya's room wasn't as plain as Ken's. He had some type of character in his room. His furniture all matched, and his bed linens were colorful. He had curtains over his windows, unlike the plain white blinds in all the other rooms. He had flowers all around, and there were pictures and other little bits of personality around on his dresser and nightstands. Omi smiled and stepped into the room, startled when he felt someone grab his arm. He turned quickly.

"What do you think you're doing?" Aya asked coldly. Omi looked at him seriously.

"I know who we are now…" he said. Aya loosened up.

"Omi…" he said.

"We're _Weiß_," Omi said. He looked down. "We're…assassins…" Aya nodded to him.

"That's right," he said. Omi looked down. Somehow, the entire time he researched online and had memories of what he used to do, it all seemed far away. But right at that moment, when Aya verified all that he'd researched, Omi felt an internal hopelessness. All the fighting, all the weaponry, all the missions. It became his reality.

* * *

Please review,

kaj


	2. Patience

_Watching from a distance was by no means fun. How he longed for action, for a taste of Weiß once more. But his fellow members were efficient enough to remind him that their time would come. That patience was indeed a virtue._

_M2_: **Patience**

Omi was working diligently on something Aya couldn't understand. He stood over his shoulder staring down at him. Omi didn't seem to mind being watched. He would write something, then move away and sketch something, then move back and write something else. Then he'd take a break and drink something, and then go back to writing.

Every now and then, he'd get on his computer and type out what he wrote, then go over it and correct it. Then he'd go back to sketching. Once, he took a pack of rubber bands and created a slingshot, then wrote a little more, then sketched. Aya was on the verge of asking, but he hated it when people inquired about his actions. He decided to leave Omi to his work.

Around eight, Aya called it quits. He had absolutely no idea why Omi had asked him to stay there all that time. They hadn't spoken to each other; Omi was completely preoccupied the whole time. But he expressed concern whenever Aya went to leave and so Aya stayed. But Aya grew tired. He stood. Omi looked over to him and frowned slightly to himself.

"I'm taking a bath," Aya said, and left the room. He leaned over so as not to hit his head on the way out. Omi had been acting strange ever since he'd woken up. Aya was more than concerned, but Ken and Yohji spent their time convincing him that Omi just needed more time to adjust to everything. Maybe they were right. But why was it taking so long?

Aya reached the first floor and knocked on Ken's door. Ken called for him to come inside and he did. Ken was sitting on the floor watching TV, pushing a soccer ball back and forth between the wall and himself. He looked over to Aya, asking 'what?' with his expression.

"I'm about to take a bath. If you have to go, go now."

"I don't have to go," Ken said. Aya didn't press the matter, but he knew what would happen. Ken was the type to say, 'oh, I don't have to go', but as soon as Aya would get comfortable, he'd come knocking. Yohji told him the same thing, but Yohji knew how to wait. Aya went to the bathroom and ran his bath water.

He wasn't ashamed of the fact that he used bath salts and oils. To him, it wasn't a big deal. He spent a lot of his time being angry, and spiteful. But when it came to relaxing, Aya could beat the best of them. Or so he thought. That night, instead having the usual clarity of mind, he was plagued with thoughts of Omi, and of _Weiß_ in general.

Omi was struggling and Aya didn't know how to help. He wanted to help, desperately. In a way, he wanted things back to normal. He told himself over and over that the only reason he joined _Weiß_ was to get even, and that was true. Now that he'd gotten his revenge, what reason was there to stay? It couldn't possibly be because he liked…to kill? He asked himself this question numerous times. For justice only, he tried to assure himself. But there was something unbearably irresistible about handling his sword.

There had to be something else. He refused to believe that it was because he liked to take lives. Was it…because of Omi? Omi, who'd spent months in a daze, who'd finally been allowed to come home, who'd finally remembered who he was? But...he didn't really remember, did he? He remembered the basics of everything, but there was still a lot he didn't recall.

Omi was wondering around in an innocent stupor. _We're assassins_, he'd said. _Assassins_. Aya knew from the way Omi said that that Omi hadn't believed it on the inside. He was in denial, and was pretending not to be. How come he couldn't see himself when he had his memories? Why was he trying to keep those memories hidden?

Aya sank into the water, stopping when the water level was just under his nose. He looked over at his feet resting on the back ledge of the tub. He was concerned about all of them, about their welfare. Kritiker had left them a healthy sum of money to get started. Birman told them that it was up to them whether they wanted to reestablish _Weiß_, or to move on instead.

They hadn't really discussed it since moving there. They each did a little work on the side, something Aya had convinced himself was just an excuse to leave very little time to think about what they really wanted to do. Aya was sure none of them knew what they wanted to do. He knew for sure that he, himself, didn't know.

And the situation with Omi was killing him. Why couldn't he just remember? Aya was very distraught over that. Omi's input would make the decision making much easier on all of them. Omi's opinion always mattered to Aya. He, though young and sometimes naïve, was intelligent. No one could deny him that. But the fact that his memories were hindered hurt _Weiß_, or whatever was left of it. And it stalled the progress Aya hoped to continue when Omi came to.

Someone knocked on the door. Aya frowned and lifted his face from the water. He rested his head on the ledge of the tub and didn't say a word.

"Hey…Aya…" Ken said. "I have to pee." Aya remained silent. "Um…Aya…? I'll only be a minute…" More silence. "Fine, be that way." Aya heard Ken's door close. He shook his head and closed his eyes. He tried to relax, and succeeded. He was able to get himself into that dreamlike state, where he bordered on just resting and almost sleeping. It was that state he liked best—not so far into reality that he was filled with the usual anxiety, and yet, not so far out that he was unaware of his surroundings. He stayed that way until the water went cold. At that point, he stood and got out of the bath.

Later, when he was all dry and clothed, he stood watching the garage from his bedroom window. The house they'd chosen didn't have the best views, but it served its purpose in other ways. Not only that, but it was the only one they could actually afford with the amount they'd been given by Kritiker. At least according to Yohji. Aya had the feeling Yohji made it so that they'd have a lot of spending money left over. It was a good thing he did, because they were able to furnish the house as they wanted, and still had a good amount left for bills and various miscellanies. They worked for a sense of purpose, not really out of necessity. However, there was still so much missing from his current way of life. Aya never experienced longer days than the days of present.

Aya went over to his bed and laid down. Ken was always the first to turn on the air conditioning, and he always had it on the highest setting. It was freezing in Aya's room, which had two vents through which heat and air came through. He wondered every time he laid down to bed whose bright idea it was to have two vents in a room as small as his, and he also wondered if there was a good reason for it. Either way, he was cold, even with both of the vent covers on.

He settled beneath both his sheets and his comforter, as he did in winter, and melted into a comfortable warmth. The warmth was why he didn't complain about the cold; it was what helped him sleep at night. He had no trouble getting to sleep that night. It was the dream he had that was the problem.

He was in his old apartment, down at the flower shop. He was sitting on his bed near the window, reading. It was nighttime, and the moon was full outside. He spent a large amount of time reading, especially Momoe's old novels. Those were the ones he liked the best.

After finishing a chapter, he lowered the dog-eared book and sat it in his lap. He looked out of the window and past the balcony to the moon. It was so bright and yellow. Aya smiled to himself. There was much in nature to appreciate.

_Hello_. Aya perked, and turned to face the room. Empty. Surely, he heard someone's voice. Where were they? Aya stood up. _There's no cause for alarm_._ It's just me_. Aya turned to the window. There stood the enemy. Aya's fists clenched tightly as he stared out at him. He refused to let his guard down, however. The enemy was coming closer.

"What do you want?" Aya asked aloud. The enemy raised his hand and opened the window, miraculously, from the outside. He wore a knowing look on his face, his thin wide lips lifted in a smirk Aya despised. He came through the window, kneeling on Aya's bed.

"What do I want?" the enemy asked. He stepped from the bed and stood with his weight on one hip, one hand on the raised hip and the other in his hair. The enemy always posed, always dramatically. It was disturbing. "It doesn't matter what I want…" The enemy came closer. "You want him back, don't you? You want him home." Aya twitched in his sleep, and his dream became different.

"He's home now…" The enemy shook his head very slowly, tapping his finger to the side of his eye in the same speed. _Look into his angeleyes, one look and you're hypnotized. He'll take your heart and you must pay the price. Look into his angeleyes, you'll think you're in paradise. Then one day you'll find out he wears a disguise. Don't look too deep into those angeleyes…_ Aya shook his head, but the song remained.

"Like it?" the enemy inquired. "He's home, is he? He's not home. He never will be. He's…_gone_." The enemy chuckled. Aya growled.

"Omi is…"

"Omi?" the enemy asked. "Omi is not his name. Tsukiyono Omi, your beloved and trusted partner in _Weiß_, Bombay, is _dead_."

"Fuck off!"

"Don't get angry with me…" the enemy said, stepping closer. "I'm not the one who changed him. I'm not the one of pushed him away. I'm not the one who let him perish."

"Omi is alive!"

"You killed him, didn't you? You had the opportunity to save him, and you failed him." …_one look and you're hypnotized. He'll take your heart and you must pay the price. Look into his angeleyes, you'll think you're in paradise. Then one day you'll_…

"Stop it!"

"Stop what?" the enemy asked, face twisted in anger momentarily. "I'm not the one with the guilty conscience. I hear that song play because of your evil heart, because of how you've allowed him to suffer. Doesn't it feel beautiful, the fear of what will happen if Omi ever knew you let him down and you had to face him? It felt good watching him sink beneath the surface of the water, didn't it? Struggling to breathe, struggling for life." The enemy laughed. "I'm so envious…" …_sometimes when I'm lonely, I sit and think about him, and it hurts to remember all the good times, when I thought I could never live without him, and I wonder does it have to be the same_…

"Damnit!" Aya exclaimed, grabbing his head.

"Love it!" the enemy ordered, and he laughed his obnoxious, cocky laugh. "As long as your heart remains guilty, you'll hear it. As long as you think of him, seeing his large blue eyes wrought with fear," the enemy paused to cackle, "you'll hear it. And you'll love every second of it." Aya yelled out and swiftly right hooked the enemy. It connected, and the enemy seemed to enjoy it. "Yes!" he said. "Hit me! Make me suffer for your incompetence!"

"Omi…" Aya said, breathing in and out roughly. …_don't look too deep into those angeleyes_… "Omi…" …_one look and you're hypnotized_… "I tried to…" …_you'll find out he wears a disguise_… "I had him!" Aya said, and punched the enemy in the gut. The enemy laughed that laugh, and Aya grew even angrier.

He could see Omi struggling for breath on the platform, nearly lifeless in his arms. 'Aya…_kun_…' Aya saw the wave, he saw it heading right towards the platform, but it was too late. The wave hit and Omi was flushed from his grasp. 'Omi!!'

"I had him!"

"You let him _die_!"

"He's alive!"

"Tsukiyono Omi is _dead_!" Aya grabbed the sides of his head.

"I'll kill you!"

"How?" the enemy demanded. "You couldn't do it then. None of you could do it then. And you even lost a teammate in the process, how _pathetic_."

"I will end this!" Aya exclaimed and he lunged towards his _katana_ near his bedside. He quickly unsheathed his sword, but the enemy was already at the window.

"Don't fret, _boku no koneko_. I'll come for you soon. Then that will be two dead kittens, and just two more _Weiß_ to destroy." Aya scowled as the enemy leapt back on the balcony ledge, and then down towards the street. Aya, chest heaving, collapsed to his knees and stabbed the _katana_ into the floor.

"Omi…" he whispered, and he lowered his head. "Omi…I'm sorry…"

Whenever Aya awoke from that dream, he felt an overwhelming sense of hopelessness and even though it had changed, that feeling still ate at him. He sat up and pushed his sheets down. He looked around the room. It was bright outside. Good. He didn't feel like going back to sleep. He got up and raised his shades. Yohji was out back with the grill, a beer bottle in one hand and a pair of tongs in the other. He also had a cigarette in his mouth. Aya wished he wouldn't smoke while he cooked, but getting Yohji to cook was a miracle in itself. Aya didn't see it as his place to complain. He looked over to his clock. It was almost nine. He nodded to himself as if verifying something and left his room.

He moved through the house and went out through the back. Yohji had just lowered the cover of the grill. He set the tongs down and sat in one of the lawn chairs he'd set out. He looked up and saw Aya coming towards him as he sat. He lifted the beerto him. Aya nodded to him and sat in the other chair.

"Sleep well?" Yohji asked.

"I had a nightmare," Aya said. Yohji shook his head.

"Wanna go out with me tonight? I'm sure you'll meet someone who'll give you sweet dreams."

"No thanks."

"No? That's too bad." Yohji leaned back in the chair and took a sip of his beer.

"What's Omi up to?"

"Probably sleeping."

"I was referring to what he was working on all day yesterday." Yohji raised his head in acknowledgement.

"I came home around one and he was still up, typing or something."

"Do you know what he's doing?"

"I have no idea. I asked, I said, you know, you're 18 now, there are places you can go now. He's not interested in that, though."

"Why should he be?"

"Hell, I was at his age. I'd like to think that one of you guys is normal."

"Normal?" Aya asked. Yohji nodded. "What do you mean by that?"

"You know. Like a regular guy. Like to go out, chase some tail. Socialize _at least_ once a week. Hang out with pals. Anything."

"Ken hangs out with his friends," Aya said. Yohji nodded.

"But those guys are obsessed with soccer."

"Soccer's their passion."

"Why waste all that energy on one thing?"

"You waste all your energy on women." Yohji took a long drag of his cigarette.

"But at least I get out," he said, "outside of work. And I don't spend my time entirely around guys."

"What if Ken regards men the way you regard women?" Aya asked. Yohji's lips pursed and he looked over to Aya, lowering his head to peer over the rims of his glasses.

"What are you saying?" he asked.

"What did it sound like?" Yohji smiled coolly and looked away.

"To each his own, I suppose." He shrugged. "Though…I don't know where the attraction comes in. Men are pigs." Aya shook his head and looked away. He didn't think he'd ever understand the mystery that was Yohji. He folded his arms.

"What are you making?" he asked.

"Something to eat." Aya looked at him. If he had something in hand, he would have thrown it at him.

"Oh, is it so?" Aya asked. "I didn't know people barbecued things they didn't intendto eat." Yohji chuckled and drank more of his beer.

"Ribs," he said. "I wanted to have a little party, but I got impatient."

"We could still do that. Maybe this afternoon, when Ken comes back."

"I'm hungry now."

"We have other things to eat, you know."

"Well sure," Yohji said. "But if I felt like eating that stuff, I wouldn't have gone through all this trouble to grill."

"It's not like you won't eat it later. We have plenty of stuff to serve along the side, now that I think about it. All we have to do is set it out."

"I guess you're right," Yohji said. "We could have a little party or what not."

"Right." Aya stood. "I'll go see what we have, and if Omi'll get up yet."

"Yeah," Yohji said. He stood and went over to the grill. Aya went back into the house. In the kitchen, he opened the refrigerator and pulled out some of the vegetables and fruits. He set them out, wondering what he could make of them. Omi would know. He went through the living room and up the stairs to Omi's room. He knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Omi called from inside. Aya opened the door. Omi was laid out on his bed, and his bed was made. Both of his windows were open, and he had a fan blowing on him from his computer chair, which had been wheeled over to him. Omi sat up when he saw Aya. Aya stayed at the door. "_Ohayo_, Aya-_kun_."

"Good morning," Aya said.

"Smells good," Omi said. He let his feet hang over the bed. "You cooking?"

"Yohji is, but there's more to be done. Why don't you give me a hand?" Omi looked excited.

"Sure!" he said. "Just let me get dressed. Are you about to get in the shower?" Aya shook his head.

"Later," he said. "You can go ahead."

"I already showered this morning, if you need to go in. I just need to freshen up." Aya didn't exactly know what it meant to freshen up, but he nodded and left the room. Omi joined him in the kitchen about ten minutes after Aya had gotten out of the shower and dressed. Aya had several ingredients laid out, but he didn't know what he wanted to do with them. Omi, as Aya knew he would be, was full of suggestions. It was one thing about him that wasn't the same as before. He'd become obsessed with watching cooking shows on TV, and liked to whip up dinner whenever he could. The difficulty with this was that he wasn't the best cook before the incident, and he was a great cook now.

Omi made potato salad, fruit smoothies and coleslaw to go along with the ribs. Yohji threw some chicken and sausage on the grill. By the time everything was ready, Ken had come home. He planned to go out with his buddies to eat, and had come home to change and grab some money, but when he saw what his housemates had done all day, he changed his mind. He was showering when Omi and Aya brought all the food out back. Omi set the table up, and everything was ready by the time Ken came out back.

It was just the way Aya wanted it. All the guys together, enjoying each other's company. They hadn't spent a lot of time together, and Aya only felt at peace when they did. He also felt at peace when he saw his sister, but there was something missing at those times. He felt complete around Omi, Yohji and Ken. He felt whole. He felt like he had purpose. He knew that once he and his sister became reacquainted, he'd feel that way when he visited her, too.

He wasn't sure what he was afraid of when it came to Aya-_chan_. She seemed happy every time he watched her, but he knew there was something that saddened her. He wondered if it was his absence. He wanted the moment to be right when he approached her. He just hadn't found that moment yet, that was all.

"Aya-_kun_?" Omi asked, pulling him from his thoughts. "What do you think?"

"What do I think?" Aya asked. He hadmissed something.

"Yeah," Omi said. For some reason, his eyes seemed inexplicably large and pleading. "Do you think I could get a dog? Huh? Do you think?" Oh. That was why.

"You can get one if you want," Aya said. "Who am I to stop you?" Omi smiled.

"So you guys don't mind? I mean…I didn't want to just bring one home without saying anything."

"Sure," Yohji said. "But I'm not taking care of it."

"I wouldn't do that to you," Omi said. "I'll accept all responsibility."

"I'll give you what you need," Yohji said. "A ride and everything." Omi smiled again. "Thank you," he said.

"Omi," Aya said. "Getting a dog's a big responsibility. You have to give it a lot of attention, especially in the beginning. Are you ready for that?"

"Well, sure. I always have a lot of time on my hands."

"What about if you decide to go back?" Aya asked. "Have you thought about that?" Ken held up a hand.

"If we could manage a flower shop while doing what we did, I think Omi can handle taking care of a puppy."

"I just want you to be aware of it," Aya said. He scooted back in his chair. "I want you to think about that before you make your decision. You never know what will happen." Aya picked up his plate, ready to get a fresh one, when he turned around and saw someone he didn't expect. "Birman…?" he said. Ken, Yohji and Omi went quiet as their attention turned to her. She walked over to them, her highs clacking on the pavement. There was a smirk on her lips and she carried a manila folder.

"Hello, boys," she said. "Enjoying your afternoon?" Yohji stood up, went over to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I suppose you've come to make it better?" he asked. She looked at him, and they gave each other the looks they always gave each other in that situation. Aya was scared by the familiarity of it. Birman held up the folder.

"Don't tell me that's what I think it is…" Ken said.

"Are you hungry, Miss Birman?" Omi asked. "You want to eat something? We have plenty." Birman smiled at him.

"I'm glad to see you up and at 'em, Bombay," she said. Omi looked confused, and then nodded as he remembered. Birman looked at Ken. "I think this is exactly what you think it is. You fellas got a minute?"

"Birman…" Aya said. "We haven't discussed it fully yet. I was hoping to do it tonight, when we'd all be home."

"Well, then," Birman said. "My timing is perfect."

* * *

Please review,

kaj


	3. Resurgence

_After months of waiting in the shadows, he felt his time would finally come. Who knew he'd want to step up and accept the risk? One thing was for certain. He could not wait to suit up and take action._

_M3_: **Resurgence**

"_Look into his angeleyes, one look and you're hypnotized, then one day you'll know that he wears a disguise. Don't look too deep into those angeleyes… Oh, no, no, no, no…_" Ken looked at Omi, his mouth pursed and eyebrows burrowed in thought. Why on earth did he keep singing that song? Ken had been dying to ask, not only that, but billions of other questions since Omi woke up. He was different; there was no doubt about it.

Ken saw nothing wrong with this. He merely saw it as a step in the next chapter of their lives. Omi was still Omi, just a little behind on the times in some areas, and yet, somehow ahead in others.

"_Keep thinking 'bout those angeleyes. Keep thinkin_'."

"Omi?" Omi looked up at Ken from the floor.

"Yes, Ken-_kun_?"

"What are you singing?"

"I…don't know. It's been stuck in my head since Birman came. I can't get it out of my mind."

"It sounds like you've heard it before. Where? On the radio?"

"Maybe it's a song I liked from before I went to sleep," Omi said. He shrugged and continued to deal himself a game of solitaire. "_…takin' a walk along the river, and I saw him together with a young girl…_"

"What's it mean…what you're singing?"

"I have no idea," Omi said, thinking about it. "It's weird, isn't it? I don't speak a lick of English and here I am singing an English song." Omi chuckled and repositioned himself so that he sat with his legs on one side of the cards instead of with them spread out on both sides.

"It's a nice song…" Ken said. "Have you checked your old CDs?"

"Yeah, and I didn't find it. I have a very weird taste in music…" Omi chuckled again.

"Yeah," Ken said. He could agree. "So when are the guys coming back?"

"Yohji-_kun_'s probably out for the night," Omi said.

"Aya won't be too happy about that," Ken said. "He really wanted to go over the case files with all of us."

"Yohji seemed a little put off by it, don't you think?" Omi asked.

"I don't know," Ken said. "I was paying too much attention to Aya. What about you? What do you think about all of this…going back to _Weiß_?"

"Me? Oh, I don't know. I suppose if it all comes down to it, I will. I'm sure Aya wants me to."

"But it's up to you, Omi."

"Aren't we influencing your decision, Ken-_kun_?" Omi asked.

"Well, sure you are."

"I can't make the decision all by myself…without thinking how it will affect you guys. I want to be there for you all, and if you all decide to go, then I will definitely be there."

"You mean that?" Aya asked from the kitchen doorway, startling both Omi and Ken, who were sure he was still out of the house. Omi dropped the deck he held and they spread out among the cards on the floor, ruining his game. He shrugged and gathered them up, then began to arrange them all while explaining himself.

"Of course I mean it. It'll actually be a very good wake up call for me. Who knows…perhaps when we go on our mission, I'll remember even more. Maybe everything will come back to me, then. Yohji said that all I need to do is submerge myself into Omi-type activities and I'll remember everything in no time. And…going on missions is a very big Omi activity, I'm sure." Ken looked over to Aya. His face showed no signs of approval, or disapproval for that matter, but he nodded and came over to the couch. He motioned for Ken to move. Ken pointed at the armchair, where Aya always sat. "Why on the one day I want to lay down, you decide to sit on the couch?" Ken asked.

"Move," Aya said. Ken rolled his eyes and sat up, then scooted back to the other side of the couch. He sat with his legs folded up to his chest and crossed at the ankles, his socked feet bent between the cushions. Aya sat lengthily on the couch, as he always sat. He was just…long. Ken look down at Omi, who was sitting next to Aya's legs, shuffling the cards.

"You know where Yohji-_kun_ is, Aya-_kun_?" he asked.

"No." There was a hint of anger in Aya's voice. Ken looked at him.

"What do you want to do?"

"We'll wait," Aya said. "If he knows what's good for him, he'll show up within the hour."

"The hour?" Omi asked, turning to look at Aya. "Can we play cards to pass the time?"

"Haven't you been playing—?"

"I mean together," Omi said, holding the cards up towards him. Aya shook his head.

"I'm not in the mood," he said simply. Omi stared at him, blinking methodically. Aya squirmed and motioned towards Ken. Omi turned the other way and looked up at Ken. Ken had to find a way out.

"Don't pout," he said.

"I'm not pouting," Omi said. Ken raised an eyebrow. Maybe that would work.

"You're not?" he asked. "I'll play with you if you stop pouting." Omi's features relaxed so that he wasn't making any face at all.

"So now you'll play with me?" he asked. Ken gave him a questioning glance. Omi's lips were naturally pouty and so he was _always_ pouting. How on earth had he managed to straighten out his lips like that? Aya looked at Ken as if telling him he'd better follow through on his offer. Ken sighed and uncrossed his legs.

"I'll play with you," he said.

"Yes!" Omi said and got on his knees. He pushed the coffee table towards the TV at the head of the room and sat in front of it. Ken slid down to the floor and sat where Omi had been sitting.

"What will we play?" he asked.

"I can teach you new things," Omi said. "I made some up."

"Great."

"Well, don't sound too enthused," Omi said. He sighed. "Ken, if you really don't want to play, you don't have to."

"Oh, don't be that way, Omi. I said I would and we will."

"Well, then, we'll play what you want to play."

"Why not match?" Omi's eyes lit up. Ken knew he'd like that.

"Okay!" Omi nearly exclaimed. He pushed the table back even more to increase the playing space, and handed half the deck to Ken.

"You start on that end, seven across and eight down." Ken smiled. Omi always played seven across and eight down, saying it was the most even way.

"Right," Ken said, and they began to deal.

"_Keep thinkin' 'bout his angeleyes. Keep thinkin'_…" Omi began to move slightly, like he was listening to music.

"Omi?" Aya asked, but not loud enough for Omi to hear.

"_Sometimes, when I'm lonely I sit and think about him. And it hurts to remember all the good times…when I thought I could never live without him_…"

"Omi…" Aya said again.

"…_and I wonder does it have to be the same, every time, when I see him, will it bring back all the pain, mm-mm-mm, how can I forget that naaame_?"

"Omi, _yamenasai_!" Aya scolded. Omi looked at Aya, confused.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"Nothing," Aya said, rubbing the side of his face slowly. "Just…don't sing that song."

"Why…not?" Omi asked. Aya looked at Omi, his eyes sharp. Omi looked down and continued to deal. Ken stopped and looked up at Aya.

"Say it," he said. Aya peered down at him, clearly **dis**pleased.

"Say what?"

"Something about the song agitated you, it's obvious. You could at least explain yourself instead of hurting Omi's feelings like that."

"I don't need to excuse myself," Aya said. "Just play your game." Ken's face frowned up.

"Angeleyes, one look…and…doo doo dee dooo. Then one day you'll look into those angeleyes. Doo doo doo dee dooooo," Ken said, trying to remember the words Omi sang. "Oh, look at me, I'm singing a song. Oh, big deal." Then his face went serious. "It's annoying, isn't it? It proves you don't have to be a jerk because it only makes the moment worse. Just say it."

"I had a nightmare about that damned song, all right!" Aya exclaimed, lifting to his feet. "Now what?" he asked. "You better now? You less tense?" Aya made a noise and left the room, slamming his room door behind him moments later.

"Yes, I am!" Ken called after him and turned to Omi. "So he had a dream about it. What do you think that means…if it's in _your_ head now?"

"That…maybe…it came on the radio and we heard it, but can't remember?" Omi asked. "Put down the last few cards. Then we can start." Ken dealt the last cards in his deck and Omi began their game of match.

"It's more than that, isn't it?" Ken asked. Ten, ten. Omi got a match. He turned over two more cards. Four, king. It was Ken's turn. Seven, jack. Omi shook his head, and then shrugged.

"I hope not." Eight, five.

"It's too big to be just a coincidence," Ken said. King…jack. "Darn it. Where did that king go?"

"Here," Omi said, turning over both kings. "Even if it is, it's not like there's anything we can do. Aya doesn't want to talk about it, and so…I say we drop it." Five, five. Ken made a face. Three, two.

Ace, two.

Two, two. Omi got the match. Queen, three.

Three…king. _Damnit_!

Three, three. King, king. Seven, ace.

Six, jack.

Jack, jack. Seven, seven.

"This is fun," Omi said. Ken felt a little annoyed. He didn't know why he played that game with Omi, anyway. Omi never forgot where the cards were, and so he always, always found its match. Eight, eight.

"So what are you thinking?" Ken asked. Omi looked intently at the cards. Nine, nine. "How are you doing that?" Ken asked.

"Doing what?" Ken groaned.

"You always get lucky." Omi smiled.

"I think I just play this game too much." Ken frowned and sighed. Ten, ace.

Ace, ace.

"Yes!" Ken said. "I got a match!" Omi chuckled at him.

"You're so weird." He tensed, making a sudden moment. Ken looked at him. Omi's eyes were distant.

"Hey, you ok?" Ken asked. Omi looked at Ken slowly and nodded.

"It's your turn," he said. He didn't sound like himself. Ken's eyebrows lowered.

"You… Omi, what's going on?"

"What do you mean?" Omi asked. "It's…your turn, isn't it? You got the last match and you get to go again." Ken shifted.

"I know."

"So…go," Omi said, and chuckled a little.

"I have to go to the bathroom first," Ken said. He got up and left the room, going to Aya's bedroom door. He knocked.

"Who is it?"

"It's Ken," Ken said quietly.

"Come in." Ken opened the door and stepped inside, pausing when he saw that Aya was on the phone, looking about ready to throw up.

"Fine," he said to whoever was on the other end. Ken closed the door slowly behind him. "We will." Aya hung up the phone and looked at Ken. "We need to go, now. Get Omi and get dressed."

"But…what about Yohji…?" Ken asked. Aya looked at him sternly.

"Get Omi and get dressed," he said again. Ken nodded and went into the living room. Omi was still sitting on the floor.

"We have to go. I think it's our mission." Omi stood up, his eyes large with excitement.

"Already?" he asked. "But what about Yohji-_kun_?"

"I think Aya will explain later," Ken said. Omi nodded.

"Okay," he said. Ken went into his room and reached on top of his dresser to get his clothes. He pulled them down and looked at him, his bugnuks on top. He paused, full of hesitation. It had been so long since he'd had to face this. Within the exhilaration was fear. He didn't know what to expect. But he dressed, slipping on his gloves last. He stared at his bugnuks, turning his hand over to inspect the sharp edges of the blades. He made a fist and the blades ejected. Ken's heart sped up and he held his hand to his chest.

His bedroom door opened and he relaxed his hand as he turned to see who it was. It was Aya. He gave Ken one look and moved away from the door. Ken followed him, shutting out the light and closing the door behind him. Omi was standing near the front door waiting, clad in his assassin attire. His eyebrows were lowered slightly at the middle of his forehead and his lips were moving nervously. Aya approached him and Omi looked up at him. Aya opened Omi's jacket and looked inside, nodding at what Ken figured were Omi's darts. He moved away from the front door and went out through the kitchen. Ken im.woed mi and went out through the ktichen.en n his assassin attire. His eyebrows were lowered slightly at his forhead and Omi followed him.

They took Aya's car, as it was the only means of transportation left for all of them. Omi took the backseat, and Ken and Aya sat up front. Aya didn't say a word the entire way there, and Ken didn't ask. Omi sat looking anxious, continuously glancing out the windows and looking at Aya.

"It's here," Omi said, breaking the sharp silence. Aya looked at him through his mirror.

"What?"

"It's here…pull over and park right beneath the first bridge." Omi sounded as he had earlier, unlike himself. Aya's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but he followed Omi's instructions. Ken looked around, becoming impatient. He didn't like to be left in the dark. He wanted to know what was going on and what his responsibility was. Aya parked just as Omi told him to, then slid from out of the vehicle. Ken followed and Omi stayed in the car.

"Give me my orders," Ken said to Aya. Aya paused at the head of the car and looked at Ken.

"Keep quiet," he told him. Ken sighed and looked away. This was not how he imagined it would be, coming back for the first time. The lack of communication was killing him. "Get Omi." Ken moved towards the car and opened the back door, gasping when he saw that Omi wasn't inside. He looked up and around to see if he'd joined Aya, but he didn't see him around. Ken closed the door and went back over to Aya.

"He's not there." Aya turned and looked at him, and then he looked at the car. After peering at it for a while, his face turned stony again and he faced the bridge. Beneath the bridge were two figures, and they were walking towards Aya and Ken. Ken poised to use his weapon, pausing when Aya put a hand up to stop him.

"Don't," he said. Ken lowered his arm and relaxed his hand. The two figures stepped out from within the shadows and paused. Aya and Ken made shocked movements.

"Omi?" Aya gasped.

"Omi?" Schuldig asked, placing one hand on Omi's shoulder. Omi stood there next to him, eyes vacant and shoulders drooped, weapon in hand. "I already told you. Omi is dead." Aya's hand gripped the hilt of his sword very tightly, and from the noise it made, Ken could tell that he was shaking. Ken was confused. He looked to Aya again, but Aya seemed to be in his own little world. Ken didn't know what to do.

"Omi, snap out of it," Aya demanded. Schuldig chuckled.

"Tell him, Angel," he said, leaning to Omi's ear. He smirked up at Aya. "Tell him what his failure has caused."

"You would have…let me die, Abyssinian," Omi said, looking up at Aya. He raised his bow and pointed it at Aya.

"Omi…" Aya gasped. He was visibly shaking now.

"You let me fall," Omi said. "You let me slip. You let me enter the water. You let me go. You let me sink."

"Omi, you know that's not true," Aya said. He sounded almost pleading. "The water…the force of the water was too strong…"

"Too strong?" Schuldig asked. "It wasn't too strong for me to pull him to safety, was it, Angel?" Omi shook his head.

"You left me," he said to Aya.

"I thought…I thought… Omi…no…"

"You left me to die." Schuldig chuckled.

"Are you going to stand there all day, aiming that thing or are you going to shot it?" he asked. "It's time for you to repay your so-called partners, Angel. It's time to show them how it feels to be done in by who they trust."

"You pig!" Ken exclaimed, and extracted his blades, moving forward to Schuldig.

"Shoot it!" Schuldig exclaimed. Ken heard he familiar ping and clack of Omi's bow and his eyes widened as he felt a needle pierce his arm. He sank to his knees, his body settling into a heavy fatigue.

"Omi!" Aya exclaimed. Schuldig began to laugh very lengthily.

"Very good, Angel," he said to Omi. "Now get the other one. The one who let you drown." Omi moved the bow over ever so slightly.

"Abyssinian?" Omi began.

"Omi…" Aya breathed.

"Omi no longer exists…" Omi said. Ken's eyelids dropped heavily.

"Omi…please." Schuldig scowled at Ken.

"Hit him again, Angel. And this time, make it lethal." Omi stepped closer to Ken, his bow clacking as he pulled back on the trigger.

"Si…berian…"

"Omi…" Ken said, looking up at him. "Omi, please don't do this." Click, swoosh. Ken gasped for air, feeling the veins in his body run cold. His body gave out and he collapsed onto the gravel.

* * *

Please review,

kaj


	4. Presence

_The air was cold, the waves, relentless. And all over a failed mission. No, not failed. Just incomplete. Pulling himself from the water, he had one thought and one thought only. Their moment would come in due time._

M4: **Presence**

"_Oi_, _minna_!" Yohji called, jogging up the stairs to get to Omi's room. He reached the door and opened it, only to find that that room was empty as well. Yohji let out an exasperated sigh and backed out of the room to close the door when he noticed that Omi's bottom drawer was opened slightly. He gripped the door knob tightly in response, then went over to the drawer and kneeled in front of it. He pulled the drawer out. It was empty, but for boxes of darts. "**Mission** _ga_…" Yohji whispered to himself. "_Kuso_!"

Yohji pounced up and fled from the room, going down through the house to get to the basement. He grabbed his assassin attire and tossed everything on his bed but his mission box. He opened it to retrieve his watch. He paused as he took it from the box, looking it over strangely.

Birman had brought over their things when she returned, Omi being the only one in the house who had them on hand. It had been a long time, it seemed, since Yohji held the watch, but he knew exactly everything about it, and would never forget it. He put the watch on and took out his phone to contact the others, but their phones weren't on. Yohji set the phone to track down Aya's car and it gave him a location the mission didn't call for.

Confused, Yohji sat down on the bed and sighed. Were they on the mission or weren't they? Why were they all gone at the same time, with Omi's clothes and weaponry gone as well? But if they were on a mission, why hadn't they used the phone for communication? And why be somewhere other than the designated locations?

Yohji took his things with him out to his car. Even if they weren't on the mission, he could still get out there and see where Aya was. Trying to call Aya's cell could prove to be fatal in some cases, if Aya had kept the device with him and was working on the mission. Yohji took off for the location, keeping his phone on in case they decided to call.

A good twenty minutes later, Yohji pulled to a stop on an incline that led to several bridges. He got out of his car and looked around. The phone gave the location as that of Aya's car. He walked forward a few steps and paused when he heard voices. He listened, but couldn't decipher much. He scrambled across the incline, ducking when he saw Aya, Ken, Omi and that one member of _Schwarz_, Schuldig. Just what had gone on without his knowledge, anyway? Yohji peered over the bluff to watch what was going on.

Aya was standing very unsteadily and Ken looked ready to strike at any moment. Omi was standing next to Schuldig with his bow pointed at Aya. Yohji's eyebrows dipped harshly, and his legs tingled as they lost their feeling. What was going on? Why was Omi going to attack Aya?

"Too strong?" Schuldig asked. "It wasn't too strong for me to pull you to safety, was it, Angel?" _Angel_? Yohji asked himself. Omi was shaking his head.

"You left me," Omi said to Aya.

"I thought…I thought… Omi…no…" Aya's voice was shaky and his hand was at his sword.

"You left me to die," Omi said. Schuldig chuckled.

"Are you going to stand there all day, aiming that thing or are you going to shot it?" he asked. "It's time for you to repay your so-called partners, Angel. It's time to show them how it feels to be done in by who they trust." Yohji's hands dug into the grass and he went to spring towards his car when the sound of Ken's voice stopped him.

"You pig!" Ken exclaimed, and extracted his blades, moving forward towards Schuldig.

"Shoot it!" Schuldig exclaimed. Yohji's face twisted into pure horror as Omi shot Ken with one of his darts.

"Omi!" Aya exclaimed. Schuldig was laughing. Yohji sprung from the bluff and towards his car, getting dressed as quickly as he could, as they were all trained to get dressed in a moment's notice. He was heading towards the bridge when his mind cleared enough for him to hear again.

"Omi no longer exists…" Omi was saying.

"Omi…please…" Ken murmured. Yohji reached the bridge and had just turned to enter it when Schuldig spoke.

"Hit him again, Angel. And this time, make it lethal." Omi stepped closer to Ken, his bow clacking as he pulled back on the trigger.

"Si…berian…" Omi muttered

"Omi…" Ken said, looking up at him. "Omi, please don't do this." Click, swoosh. Yohji stopped again, not believing his eyes or his ears. He…really did it. He actually…

"One more to go, Angel," Schuldig said, "before you go and lose your nerve on me…"

"Omi, listen to me…" Aya pleaded. Yohji spun the wire from his watch quickly and it shot out to the right of him. He grabbed one end once there was enough length and dipped the middle length down towards where Omi stood.

"Kill him!" Schuldig demanded, then tensed and looked up toward Yohji as Omi shot one of the larger darts at Aya. Yohji pulled his arms apart and the wire hitched Omi's arms upward on one end and tightened around Schuldig's neck on the other. Omi's bow dropped from his hands and he stumbled backwards.

"Ken-_kun_!!" he exclaimed and ran over to Ken.

"_Ima_, Aya!" Yohji called to Aya, who was standing in a daze, it seemed. As if on cue, Aya jetted forward and unsheathed his sword. Yohji felt a slack in the wire, and he knew that Schuldig had cut it. Schuldig moved out of the way and under the bridge. Yohji leaned to keep his eyes on him, then moved to the other side to catch him coming out the other end. Distantly, Yohji heard the screech of a car and he turned in time to see a green one headed towards the second bridge. "_K'so_," Yohji muttered and ran to the other bridge, seeing Schuldig jump onto the bluff and then to the second bridge's ledge. He climbed up and over it, and Yohji spun his wire, aiming for Schuldig's neck.

The car screeched to a halt at the head of the bridge where Yohji caught up with Schuldig after he'd snagged him. He yanked him back and Schuldig turned and swiftly brought his leg up, kicking Yohji in the chin. Yohji's head snapped back.

"Not yet!" Schuldig told him. "You're last." Yohji felt the wire sag again and went to run, but all he saw was telltale orange hair as Schuldig entered the backseat of the car. The car sped off, and absently, Yohji heard Omi's wails from below.

"Ken!!" Yohji took off in their direction, sliding down, then leaping from the bluff as he passed the first bridge. Omi was patting himself down hysterically, lifting his jacket lapels to look for something inside them. Aya was kneeling beside Ken, holding onto him, shaking him. Ken's body was heaving and his entire body had broken out into a sweat. "Where?!" Omi sobbed. "Where?! Ken!" Yohji placed a hand on Omi's shoulder to stop him, and reached into his inside jacket pocket for him.

"It's in there," he told him calmly, then unzipped his track suit to breath a little easier. Omi reached into the pocket and pulled out a small vial. He unscrewed the cap and Aya leaned back, tilting Ken's head so that he was facing the night sky. Omi took Ken by the chin and set the vial at his lips. They were both shaking as Omi poured its contents into Ken's mouth. Aya positioned Ken so that his body would accept it and they each sat and waited. Ken's body ceased in its shaking, and Aya put his fingers to Ken's neck. He let out a heavy sigh and looked up at Omi. Omi looked like he'd seen hell and hadn't quite made his way back yet. Yohji pulled out a cigarette and sighed as he lit it, looking around the area as he sat there.

"You guys wanna tell me what the hell is going on?" he asked.

"Mind control," Aya said, his head up but his eyes down. "He's controlling Omi…the same way he did Sakura-_chan_…" Omi pressed his sleeve up to his mouth and sniffed deeply.

"It…felt so familiar…" he said. "It felt like the right thing to do…"

"Shooting Ken?" Yohji asked.

"Being…with him…" Omi said.

"Schuldig," Aya said. He shook his head slightly and stood up, holding Ken in his arms. "Let's go." Omi stood up on shaky knees and Yohji walked behind him to make sure he wouldn't fall over. Omi sat in the back seat of Aya's car with Ken, and Aya drove them home. Yohji took his own vehicle.

Later that evening, with Ken and Omi resting in their rooms, Yohji and Aya sat talking in the kitchen over coffee. They sat on opposite ends of the table, both quietly sipping at their mugs, and both reluctant to accept what was happening.

"Are you sure?" Yohji asked. Aya had spoken with Omi in the car, and Omi had told Aya about all the things he felt while he fought by Schuldig's side.

"I can't think of anything else," Aya said. "All those days Omi was unaccounted for…"

"You think they had him?" Aya nodded.

"That was when they influenced him," he said. Yohji sat back in his chair, his arms folded across his chest. "That was when he brainwashed him with that garbage."

"What was all that, anyway?" Yohji asked. "About…you leaving him to die…?"

"I didn't!" Aya snapped, his eyes dilated, wide and angry. He leapt up from the table. "I had him! He…he was right there…" Aya voice trailed off and he looked down. He rubbed his hand on his chin. "Yohji…I let him go…" Yohji sat up and stood, approaching Aya slowly. "I really thought he'd died, Yohji… When he…when Manx told us he was in the hospital, you don't know how relieved I was. And to see him awake…I was so happy…" Yohji put his hand on Aya's shoulder and squeezed it.

"Aya…"

"But there was something wrong with him…" Aya said. "I knew he wasn't himself. They…they corrupted him… They….corrupted him with that garbage." Aya's voice was uncharacteristically harsh.

"Aya, please. Have a seat and let's talk this over." Aya looked at Yohji, and then out the large picture windows beyond the table. The moonlight was the only light coming in through the windows and besides that, the room was bathed in darkness. Aya pulled out the chair he stood near and sat down. Yohji resumed his seat, but pulled it closer to Aya's.

"Yohji…?"

"Yeah?"

"I had this nightmare…" Aya began, his voice so low, Yohji could barely hear him.

"From before?" Yohji asked. Aya nodded. "What about?"

"I'm reading…and he comes out of nowhere, and starts pestering me. Telling me that Omi is dead."

"Who?" Yohji asked.

"Schuldig."

"I see." Aya looked over to Yohji, resting his elbows on the table.

"Tsukiyono Omi…_is_ dead, isn't he?" he asked. Yohji looked appalled.

"I'd like to think not!" he said, picking up his glasses from the table. He pointed them at Aya as he spoke. "Omi's alive, you've seen it for yourself. If that's not Omi, then who is that walking around this house with us?"

"Someone else…" Aya said. "He's right. When I let him go that day, I let the Omi we knew die."

"You're wrong," Yohji said. "You're letting him get to you, and that's showing me that there is seriously something wrong with this picture."

"Yohji, he…he's not the same."

"Hell, would you be?" Yohji asked. "Is Little Miss Aya-_chan_ the same from before? Sakura-_chan_ even?" Yohji said. "Hell, we've all been through a lot, and yeah, we've all changed. But…you had to have expected that." Yohji sat back, shaking his head. "An experience like that, Aya…? What else could you expect?"

"How did they get him?" Aya asked, looking out the window again. "How on earth did they find him…? I looked everywhere for him." Aya shook his head.

"Aya…"

"And they brainwashed him…with God knows what…" Aya's face frowned up. "I knew that wood wouldn't support our weight…but I just sat him there, anyway…"

"Aya…"

"And I let him sink, Yohji. I watched him as he went over, he couldn't swim anymore. That fucking wave… I don't even know where that wave came from…there were no waves there the entire time, but that one fucking wave." Aya's mouth was pursed tightly in disgust and anger. "I let him die that day, and they got him and they turned him into one of them."

"Cut it out," Yohji said.

"Yohji, damnit." Yohji looked at him. Aya's eyes were fierce. "I let him die that day."

"I said cut it out," Yohji said. Aya's face went through a multitude of changes, ultimately settling for one Yohji had never seen on him before.

"I did…" Aya said slowly. "I did let him go, Yohji." Yohji stood behind him and placed both his hands on Aya's shoulders. "I saw that you were okay, and Ken was with you. Omi wasn't there. I couldn't handle that, I knew he was alive, and waiting to be found, just like you were. I looked for him, and I found him, floating along the surface, half unconscious. I called to him and I reached for him. He was right there, I pulled him up and I had him on that wood, and he was coming to. But the wood snapped and he went under…" Aya's body flinched and he closed his eyes, leaning forward. "He called for me…his voice was so…he was so…scared… I had him…and I just let him go…" Aya trailed off and Yohji felt his shoulders slump. Yohji slid his hands around the front of Aya's chest and pulled him back. He leaned down and rested his face near Aya's.

"You saved his life," Yohji said, his voice softened from the effects of Aya's explanation. "He would have died if you hadn't have pulled him up when you did." Aya shook his head slowly. "Babe, listen to me," Yohji said, resting his head against Aya's and staring down at Aya's hands. "The only thing you did was save him. So what if they got to him, at least he's alive, and he is with us now. We are going to work with him, and everything's going to work out. We'll kill those bastards, and move on, won't we?" Aya looked up, his lips quivering very slightly. He gave a faint nod and Yohji squeezed him. "You're damned right we will."

* * *

Please review,

kaj


	5. Contingency

_His world was full of unnecessary evils. To live, to fight, to breathe and inevitably, to die. To live without goals was to have perished before one's time. And he felt like it was now his time; his goal, imminent, the results, uncertain. Yet, this was now what he lived for, and he was prepared to accept his fate._

M5: **Contingency**

Omi sat nervously picking at the tiny hairs on his legs, looking up and around at each of the three guys near him. They were each watching him, each waiting for him to speak. Omi knew not what to say. He picked at one of the hairs and accidentally pulled it out. He flinched slightly at the pain, and then went back to picking at the others.

Of all the guys, Ken's face was the one Omi was most reluctant to see. He couldn't bring himself to forgive himself for what he'd done that night, even though Ken told him that he knew he wasn't himself when it happened and that there were no hard feelings. Omi just found it hard to believe that Ken could forgive him, and so easily.

And Aya had changed since that night. He'd become overly alert and jumpy, and occasionally had the 'deer caught in headlights' look in his eyes. For Omi, Yohji was the only one who he could go to. Yohji was the only one whose mood always stayed the same, and who Omi always knew where he stood with.

Omi moved down to his shoes and picked at the laces. He could still feel their eyes on him, and the silence was driving him mad. Why couldn't any of them say something? Why did it have to be him? Omi sighed and looked up again. Yohji caught his attention the longest.

"Is there anything you want to tell us, _chibi_?" he asked. Omi shook his head and looked down, but he knew he wouldn't be off the hook _that_ easily.

"Tell me what that song means to you," Aya said.

"I just hear it sometimes," Omi answered. "It's in my mind sometimes, especially when I'm alone and bored. And when I hear it, it makes me want to cook and things like that."

"You didn't used to cook," Aya said.

"I know," Omi said. They told him about that already.

"When they had you, did they have you cook for them, like you were some type of maid?" Aya asked. Omi shrugged again.

"I already told you, I don't remember being with them. I can barely remember what they look like." Yohji reached over from the chair he sat in and pulled a manila folder from the coffee table.

"Take a look at these," he said, pulling some papers from them as he stood up. He handed everything to Omi and then sat back down. "What feelings do those pictures give you?" Omi took a look at the photographs, one of each member of _Schwarz_. Farfarello elicited no reaction from him. At the next picture, Crawford, there was a glimmer of recognition, but that was all. From Schuldig, Omi felt a little creeped out, and he quickly flipped to the last. Omi smiled.

"Nagi…" he said. "It's Nagi-_kun_."

"What about Nagi makes you smile, Omi?" Ken asked. Omi shrugged slightly.

"I'm not sure. I recognize him the most; he's the most familiar to me. And…I feel like we're friends."

"Friends?" Aya asked. Omi nodded.

"Yeah…" He ran his fingers over the picture**. **A little color cameto his face. "I remember now. Nagi-_kun_ took me in…"

"Did he?" Ken asked, switching from the couch to the recliner where Omi sat. Omi nodded, smiling at Ken's interest.

"Yeah. He was nice to me…and we played the computer together a lot."

"Neat," Ken said.

"What are you doing?" Aya asked. Ken looked up at him.

"I'm trying to help Omi to remember," he said. He looked at Omi and nodded. "The more comfortable you are with recalling your memories, the easier they will come to you." Aya gave them both a skeptical look, but said nothing else. "Do you remember where?" Ken asked. Omi shook his head.

"I was just in his room a lot," he said. "I don't remember much about anywhere else."

"Oh, ok," Ken said. He reached for the pictures and Omi looked reluctant to give them up. "Can I see them?" Ken asked. Omi looked at them and then handed them all to Ken, except the one of Nagi.

"Can I keep this one?" Omi asked.

"You do realize they're the enemy, don't you?" Yohji asked. "Even if your memories of them are…pleasant." Omi looked conflicted.

"How can that be?" Omi asked. "I don't…"

"He tried to kill you, Omi…" Aya said. "And you're holding onto to that picture like he's a friend from school." Ken's jaw straightened.

"You guys are not helping," he said. Omi looked at Aya, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Last I checked, it was _you_ who tried to kill me." Aya came away from the wall he was leaning against, his face deepening into a scowl. He gave a glance to Yohji, who looked a little shocked at Omi's statement. Omi put his hand to his mouth and covered it. "I'm sorry…" he said.

"Hn." Aya walked away, going into the kitchen. Yohji stood up and followed him.

"Omi…" Ken began.

"I didn't mean it," Omi said, looking up at Ken. "Honest."

"I believe you," Ken told him. "I know you didn't mean it. But…they're right, Omi."

"I don't see him as my enemy," Omi said. Ken fanned out the other pictures.

"What about these guys?" he asked. Omi shook his head.

"Not them," he said. "I don't trust them. They give me bad vibes. Nagi…Nagi… I just feel that Nagi is different." Ken nodded.

"I see," he said.

"Do you believe me?" Omi asked. Ken nodded adamantly.

"Of course," he said. "I believe in you and what you tell me. How could I ever not?"

"I'm really sorry about what happened, Ken-_kun_, you know I would never do that to you!" Ken patted Omi's shoulder.

"Relax, Omi," he said. "You were forgiven before it even happened. _You_ didn't shoot me. Schuldig did." Ken waved the pictures a little then placed them on the coffee table. "I just wish we knew where they were staying."

"Are we supposed to hunt them?" Omi asked.

"Yeah."

"Oh, I see. Well, we can hunt the other two, but not Nagi-_kun_. Nagi-_kun_…"

"Omi…?"

"Yes, Ken-_kun_?"

"I know you two are friends, but the same thing happened to me and to Yohji during missions in the past. People can manipulate other people very easily. I want you to think for as long as you can about the time you spent with Nagi, I want you to spend a lot of time on this. If there is any, and I mean any, speck of doubt in the strength of your friendship, then there might be a problem."

"But, Ken-_kun_…"

"Just think about it. If you don't find anything worth worrying about, then you two must be strong in your friendship. But I'm just letting you know that if it could happen to me, and to Yohji, then it could happen to you."

"I understand," Omi said, and looked at the picture of Nagi, studying it for a long time. Ken sat back down on the couch and watched him.

Omi couldn't remember anything bad about Nagi. He tried his hardest to remember his situation when he was with Nagi and the other members of _Schwarz_. Whenever he recalled bad feelings, they were because of the other members, not Nagi. Nagi was the one who Omi turned to, who stuck up for Omi.

"Ken?" Omi asked. "What if Nagi really is my friend?"

"Omi…?"

"I don't know…" Omi said. "I can't think of anything…" Ken looked down. "What if…he's changed?"

"It all remains to be seen, Omi," Ken said. "All we have to do is wait and see what he's really like." Omi nodded and stood up.

"Aya?" he asked, moving towards the kitchen. He looked inside. Neither Yohji nor Aya was in the kitchen. He frowned and went towards the stairs. He could hear Yohji and Aya's voices, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. He looked at the picture of Nagi again and then went back into the living room. Ken was still sitting on the couch. "I'll be in my room," Omi said. Ken nodded.

"All right." Omi went upstairs and got on his computer. He sat the picture of Nagi down on his desk and stared at it for awhile. He got the urge to go online and so he did. He checked his mail, of which there wasn't much, and then opened the 'locate a buddy online' screen. He typed in a screen name and hit enter. It told him that the person was online. He clicked to send an IM and put simply: 'hello?' A few seconds later, a response came: '_Omi_?'

'Yeah.' There was a pause before anything else happened.

'_Red snow only falls on Tuesdays_.' Omi's eyebrows went down. What was that supposed to mean? He read it again, and then something popped into his head.

'And Thursdays if the sky is white.' The response came almost immediately.

'_Omi_!'

'Who…is this?' There was a pause.

'_It's Nagi_.'

'_Don't you know_?'

'hey, Nagi.'

'I'm having a little trouble remembering things….'

'_I see. How are you, otherwise_?'

'I'm okay.'

'_That's good_.'

'How about you?'

'_I'm managing, but the guys are really getting on my case about things_.'

'The guys?'

'_Crawford and Schuldig_.'

'_Do you remember them_?'

'Yeah.'

'_They're still the biggest jerks_.'

'_Anyway…what's been going on with you_? _Are you in the house with the others_?'

'You mean Weiß?' Omi asked.

'_Yeah_.'

'Yeah, I am.'

'_You like it there_?'

'Yeah. Except things are a little tense.'

'_Why_?'

'The guys are a little frustrated that I can't remember anything. Especially Aya.'

'_I see_….' Omi leaned on his elbow on the desk and looked at the screen for a while. '_Do you want to get away_?'

'…get away?'

'_Yeah. I know I do_. _They're really pushing me off the deep end_. _And I miss you_.'

'Though I don't remember much, when I saw your picture, I felt the same way.'

'_My picture_?'

'Yeah.' Omi waited a short while for Nagi's response.

'_Well do you_?'

'Do I want to get away? From what?'

'_I don't know_.'

'_It's probably not as hard for you as it is for me_.'

'_You guys actually like each other_. _Crawford and Schuldig are seriously driving me nuts_.'

'_I want to see you again_.'

'I want to see you, too, Nagi.'

'_Meet with me_?'

'Meet you?'

'_Yes_.'

'_please_?'

'How?'

'_You can get out of the house, can't you_?'

'_We can meet where we used to hang out_.'

'I…'

'I can't remember where that is…'

'_It's okay, Omi, I'll just tell you_.'

'I still won't know. I haven't even left the neighborhood since I woke up.'

'_Woke up_?'

'Yeah.'

'_What do you mean by that_?'

'I was…asleep for a long time.'

'_What happened_?'

'Nobody knows. I was just…sleeping.'

'_Like in a coma_?'

'No, becuase I was awake. I just wasn't…all there.'

'_That's weird_.'

'What was I like when I was with you?'

'_You were just fine_. _You were awake and all, if that's what you mean_.'

'Okay. Well, how will we meet?'

'_I'll come to you if I have to_.'

'okay…'

'_What's your address_?' Someone knocked on Omi's door. Omi turned towards it.

"Yeah?" Aya came into the room.

"We need to talk, Omi," he said.

"Um…" Omi looked at the computer screen and turned back to Aya. Aya was coming over. Omi minimized the IM screen.

"What was that?" Aya said. Omi shrugged casually.

"Just something I've been working on, nothing important." Aya narrowed his eyes.

"If it's nothing important, then why are you hiding it from me?" Omi shook his head.

"It's not like that…" he said. Aya's eye caught the picture of Nagi on his desk. His frown grew and he stepped closer.

"Move," he said.

"No," Omi said.

"I said move."

"I don't have to…this is my room, you can't tell me what to do." Aya grabbed the back of Omi's computer chair and pulled it back, causing Omi to roll away from the desk. "Hey!" Aya grabbed the mouse and opened the IM screen. "Stop it, Aya!" Omi exclaimed and grabbed Aya's shoulder. Aya pushed him away with his arm and Omi fell to the floor. "Aya…" he said. Aya turned to him, his expression fierce.

"So this is what you've been up to?" Aya asked him. "Giving the enemy information."

"Nagi isn't the enemy," Omi said. "Nagi…"

"What do you think he plans to do when you meet him? Once you tell him where we live? You think they won't come after us, Omi? You think they won't hurt you?"

"No, I know Nagi wouldn't do that!"

"They're fooling you," Aya accused. "They're preying on your weaknesses and they're tricking you."

"No…"

"Go downstairs."

"No! I don't have to. You don't have any idea what you're talking about."

"Omi—"

"Leave me alone!" Omi said, standing up. "Get out of my room! I don't have to listen to you. Move out of the way." Omi pushed Aya away from the computer. Aya grabbed his wrist and Omi swung his fist at him. "Leave me alone, you jerk."

"Omi, stop this. He'll only hurt you."

"The way you hurt me?" Omi asked. Aya released Omi's wrist and smacked his cheek. Omi fell back on to the computer chair and looked at Aya, his expression confused and hurt. Aya grabbed Omi by the shoulders and shook him as he spoke.

"Don't do this to me, Omi," Aya growled. "I saved you! I saved your life! You would have died, Omi!" Aya took the picture from the desk and showed it to Omi. "Do you know why I had to save you from death, Omi? Because of him and the other men of _Schwarz_. Because we had to fight them, and stop them from spreading their evil. What do you think they're doing now, Omi? What do you think they did to you when they kidnapped and confused you with their filth and lies? They don't care about you the way we do! Don't feed into their lies, Omi!"

"Aya, please…" Omi pleaded. "Please, I don't know… Please stop yelling at me."

"Omi!" Aya pulled Omi from the chair and put his arms around him. "Omi…" Omi started crying into Aya's chest.

"I don't know what to do…"

"Don't let them get to you," Aya said, hugging him tightly. "Stay with us. Don't fall into their trap again." Omi put his arms around Aya and nodded.

"I'm sorry…" he said. "Aya…I'm sorry…"

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Thanks for reading and please review,

kaj


	6. Anticipation

After reading the last set of reviews, I have become a little worried. As it turns out, I may end up disappointing the readers of this story! That's not good… Not good at all. Please don't give up on me! And thank you guys very much for reviewing! I've been typing, typing, typing…and the ideas are flowing quickly. Please let me know right away if you spot any glaring discrepancies and I will correct them as soon as possible.

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A fluttering heart. A nervous stomach. A quickened breath. All at the thought of a single person. Was it the danger that drew him? Was it the promise of something more? Or was it simply just a phase?

M6: **Anticipation**

Yohji stumbled listlessly down the back steps and into the basement. Everything was off and therefore the room was dark and quiet. Yohji slipped off his shoes at the bottom of the stairs and discarded his jacket and shirt on the way to his bed. He dropped on his knees on to the mattress and was about to plop down across the rest of it when he noticed that something was wrong. He wasn't alone. Yohji paused and stared down at the bed. He reached quietly into his pocket and pulled out his keys. He pointed his penlight down and rolled the end to turn it on.

Large blues eye were staring up at him from a tear streaked face.

"Yohji-_kun_…" Omi murmured. Worried, Yohji reached over and turned on the closest lamp. Omi was curled into a ball on his side facing Yohji. He was barefoot and wearing light blue pajamas with kittens playing with yarn on them. Omi looked startled, and tentatively touched his hand to his cheek. "Why…am I crying?" he asked.

"Good question," Yohji said, sitting back on his heels. "I am also curious as to why you're down here in my bed." Omi sat up and rubbed his eyes with his sleeve. He sniffled and said, "Are you mad?"

"Nah," Yohji said, ruffling his hair. "Just curious."

"I wanted to talk," Omi said. "But I didn't want to miss you coming in. I didn't mean to fall asleep…"

"You were sleeping?" Yohji asked. "Wait…you were crying in your sleep?"

"It's strange right?" Omi asked. Yohji sat down with one leg under him and the other over the edge of the bed. "Your bed…feels really nice…" Omi asked. "I don't think I was here for five minutes before I fell asleep."

"It's not supposed to make you sleepy…" Yohji murmured.

"Hm…?" Omi asked.

"Never mind. You just tell me what's on your mind, Omi." Omi scooted closer to Yohji.

"Well… I think I'm in love, Yohji," he said quietly. "I think…I'm in love and I don't know what to do…" Omi pulled his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. "Aya is always so focused on work and Aya-_chan_ that he doesn't have time for romance… And Ken… Ken is so obsessed with sports that he doesn't date or anything. So…I thought…I'd ask you, Yohji." Yohji didn't know what to say or do. Omi's words seemed so naïve. From his words to his face still plump with baby fat, from his small frame down to his kitten laden pjs, Omi was youth personified. It worried Yohji that he was thinking of taking such a grown up step: having a serious conversation about love and relationships.

Omi was still adolescent and impressionable, though he had a level of maturity about him that couldn't be matched by kids his age. Still, outside of work, it was hard to imagine Omi as anything other than the older three members' adorable little brother. Omi was someone who Yohji continuously sought to protect, though he could protect himself. Yohji didn't know that he could be the one to teach Omi about love and things of that nature. However, the fact that Omi was concerned about it and took steps to ensure a talk about **it **spoke of his individual humanity. It aided to ease the anxiety Yohji had felt festering inside of him ever since the night Omi had turned against them.

"Ask me anything, Omi," Yohji said. Omi scooted closer.

"Do you remember when Ouka and I… When we fell in love with each other?"

"Yeah," Yohji said.

"It was…unfortunate that she had to die like that. I…had only just learned that she was my sister and then she died. That one man from the picture… He killed her. He killed her and…a part of me felt as if I was never going to recover from her loss. The more I thought about it…the more I realized that even though I was in love with Ouka…it just didn't feel like…love between a man and a woman. It felt like…familial love. The love I have now…feels different."

"Different how?" Yohji asked. Omi's cheeks turned red and he sunk down to hide his face behind his knees.

"I don't know how to describe it…" he said. "But…it feels like love, you know?"

"So…are you thinking of acting on it?"

"I don't know…" Omi said. "I don't know."

"How does she feel about you?" Omi lifted his head slightly.

"Well…that's the thing…" he said. "I…don't think he knows."

"_Kare_?" Yohji asked, shocked. "What the hell kinda twilight zone _is_ this?" Omi quirked an eyebrow.

"Huh?"

"I cannot possibly be the only guy in the house into chicks." Omi chuckled, and then perked.

"You mean Aya…likes guys?"

"As far as I'm concerned, Aya is asexual," Yohji said, ruffling his hair as if he really couldn't understand what was going on. "And that Ken guy…sometimes I wonder about him."

"Don't be silly, Yohji," Omi said. "Ken's had a girlfriend before."

"Humph," Yohji said as if that didn't matter. "Yeah, okay." Omi chuckled at him a little more.

"You're funny, Yohji_-kun_." Yohji smirked at him. He wouldn't admit that it was Ken and Aya's obsession with Omi that made him question their sexuality. When Omi was asleep, he was all Aya ever talked about the few times Yohji was able to get him speaking. Aya was the one who fed and nursed Omi during the day. And Ken? Ken was the one who'd chosen Omi's room, furnished it and slept with him every night to make sure that he wouldn't wake up alone.

Yohji preferred to keep his distance. He was the one who shopped for and bought all of his food for his special diet and all of his medication. He also arranged for and drove Omi back and forth from the hospital when it was needed. Yohji had suggested that they hire a nurse for Omi because he needed a lot of monitoring and attention, but Ken and Aya vehemently refused and treated him like a stranger for at least a week after. If it wasn't for the fact that Yohji cared deeply about Omi as well, he would have found Ken and Aya's possessive behavior borderline creepy. However, Yohji could understand. Omi needed each of their support, no matter how they decided to show it.

"It would be…beneficial for me if Aya was that way… Then I could talk to him…"

"Well…you don't get out much, _chibi_," Yohji said. "Who do you think you're in love with, if not one of us?"

"Someone…bad…" Yohji chuckled despite himself. Omi sounded like such a kid.

"Bad how?" he said.

"Bad like…enemy bad." Now that wasn't so funny. Yohji nodded and rubbed his chin.

"Aya told me about what happened earlier. About you and Nagi. He told me he hit you."

"I provoked him…"

"You're doing that a lot lately, _chibi_." Omi sighed heavily.

"I don't know why. I love Aya, I do… He's a really good friend, but…for some reason…when I'm around him, all I can think about is…the fact that he betrayed me." Omi looked to regret the words he spoke as he said them. "He didn't betray me…Yohji…"

"That's right. He tried to save you."

"I…just don't know…how the surf could have come in so quickly."

"You…remember…?" Omi nodded.

"Yeah… I…had this strange dream about it. I…was under water and I thought my chest was going to explode. When I got to the surface I took in a lot of air and water and I was so dizzy. I was so tired… I couldn't move anymore. I was floating and I was so cold, Yohji. But then…Aya was there. He put his arms around me…he was panicking… He pulled me out of the water and then we were safe and waiting. He did CPR and I coughed the water up and then we were waiting. He said you two were all right. I was so happy. I…started to feel better and looked at Aya… Behind him…there was this big wall of water… It…was beyond all reason…" Omi shut his eyes. "Aya's arms tightened around me, but…we were pulled apart. I can still hear him yelling for me… it echoes in my head." Omi shook his head and sniffed. "He didn't betray me…" Yohji took Omi's hand and squeezed it.

"You need to talk to Aya about this," Yohji said.

"I can't… I was so mean to him."

"Omi, you guys will never get past this unless you both talk about it. Tell him what you told me and let him tell you what happened from his point of view. Express your anger and frustrations and all the good feelings, too. We can talk about love some other time, this is more important."

"You…want me to do it now…?" Omi asked. He looked scared. "I can't, Yohji_-kun_."

"You can talk to Aya," Yohji said. "Are you sure you're not mad that he hit you? He's been moping about it ever since."

"I hurt him, Yohji_-kun_."

"Let him help you heal," Yohji said.

"Will you come with me?" Yohji sighed.

"I'll walk you up, but you two should talk alone." Omi nodded.

"Okay…" Yohji got up and helped Omi from the bed. He walked behind him up into the kitchen. Ken was sleeping at the table with his head on his arms, music audible from his earphones. Omi hurried over to him and shook him.

"Ken_-kun_? Ken_-kun_, wake up." Ken perked and raised his head. He pulled his earphones down as he regarded Yohji and Omi sleepily.

"Hey guys…" he said.

"Why are you here, Ken_-kun_?" Omi asked.

"I thought I heard you leaving…and I was worried so I was waiting up for you."

"No, I was here, Ken. You should get some sleep, it's late. You're going to be so sore if you sleep like that." Ken smiled gently at him.

"Thanks Omi… I'll go to sleep in a little bit." Omi nodded.

"Good," he said. He looked to Yohji and his demeanor changed as he remembered what his own task was.

"What are you two up to?" Ken asked.

"Yohji_-kun_ wants me and Aya to talk about what happen the day we were separated…" Omi said. "I'm nervous." Ken stood up quickly.

"Well, you know, Omi, I'm here for you, too," he said. "We can talk about anything." Omi smiled faintly.

"I know, Ken. Thanks." Ken nodded.

"Aya's still up. He was worried about you, too."

"Why?"

"Well…you don't go out much and here you were…leaving in the middle of the night." Omi scratched his cheeks.

"You guys worry too much. I was downstairs waiting for Yohji_-kun_ to come home." Ken still looked concerned. He glanced back at Yohji and then looked at Omi.

"Oh…" he said. "Did you guys talk?"

"A little. We'll talk more in the morning," Yohji said. "Right now, I need for Omi to man up and go talk to Aya."

"Omi…are you ready to talk?" Ken asked. "Because if you're not, we'll understand. We'll be patient with you."

"No, I'm ready…" Omi said. "I will. I'll talk to Aya." Without any hesitation, Omi marched from the kitchen. Ken slumped onto the table.

"Why did he choose to talk to you? Me and Aya were home." Yohji looked over to Ken and frowned.

"If I told you that it's because I get around, would it make you feel better?"

"Why would that concern Omi?" Ken asked quickly. "And I get around." Yohji pulled out a chair and sat down. He looked at Ken, at how serious he'd become, and he laughed at him.

"Sure you do."

"I do."

"Well Omi's under the impression that I'm the only one." Ken rubbed his chin. "And Ken? I know a guy that gets around, and you ain't one of 'em." Ken pouted at Yohji without really looking at him.

"I get _out_," he said. His shoulders fell. "So…what's with Omi tonight? Did he ask you to take him out or something?"

"No. He says he thinks he's in love." Ken's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. He leaned forward in earnest.

"It's okay, you can tell me. Is that what Aya and Omi are really going to talk about?" he asked. Yohji leaned away from him.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ken stared at him, then eased up.

"Oh…" he said. "Never mind."

"Don't you never mind me, tell me. What were you getting at?"

"Well, you said Omi wanted to talk about getting around, or whatever…and then you're sort of forcing him and Aya to talk. What else is there to assume?"

"Ken, you're a loose bolt," Yohji said. "Like I'd send him to Aya for relationship advice." Ken's expression changed into a peculiar one. He looked both confused and guilty. Yohji and he stared at each other, and realization settled on Yohji just as disappointment washed over Ken. "You can't be serious," Yohji said. "You mean…you thought I was…trying to set them up?"

"No!" Ken said quickly, holding his hands out. "I meant the first thing, the first thing!"

"My ass," Yohji said, lowering Ken's nearest hand. He leaned in and whispered, "You mean to tell me that Aya has the hots for—"

"I didn't say anything like that, you're overreacting!"

"Why the heck are you yelling and waving at me, then?" Yohji asked, chuckling deeply as he let Ken go and sat back. "You're so caught. You can't keep a secret to save your life."

"You've totally got it all wrong." Yohji shook his head.

"Oh, give me some credit," he said. "That's what you get for dropping hints, Ken. But hey, if the _chibi_ finds out that Aya likes him then maybe he won't think of going for that Nagi kid." Ken's eyes did the bug thing again.

"Who?" he whispered sharply.

"Oh, now you're keeping it down?" Yohji asked, looking at him over the rim of his glasses. He chuckled again. "This is so soap operish, you know? We could have some real fun with this and get rid of _Schwarz_ in the process."

"Aya doesn't want to be with Omi, though." Yohji folded his arms.

"Well, why the hell not?" he asked.

"It's complicated. Listen, Aya doesn't know that I know that he likes Omi. So…you have to really act like you don't know too. We have to leave Aya alone, but Omi? He can't be serious. In love? With Nagi? The enemy?"

"Yep," Yohji said, starting to crave a cigarette. He patted his chest unconsciously before he realized that he had taken his shirt off. He sat back, rubbed his hands and made quick plans on how he'd grab a smoke before bed.

"Do you think…he'd do something?" Ken asked. "He was chatting with him on the internet. Aya said Nagi was trying to get Omi to tell him where we live. He wants to take Omi away from us."

"I know, we talked," Yohji said.

"But we can't watch Omi all the time. What if Nagi gets in contact with him and tries to attack him?"

"Well, if Nagi is really so desperate to find Omi, and he and Omi are really friends, then probably he's acting alone."

"Come on, that's not right. Nagi and the others have a leash on Omi and this how they pull the strings. Omi…needs to be watched. This Nagi will tell him that he wants to meet him and Omi will go to see him and he'll be walking right into their trap."

"Ken, think about it. Why would Nagi go through the trouble of contacting Omi and badmouthing the others if he didn't really want to see him? Oh, but wait. Let's not forget that it was Omi who IM'd him first." Ken slumped down again and let his chin hit the table.

"But…we have to think about why they let him go after all that time…" he mumbled. "Why let Omi go…? I mean…I'm sure that us finding him and taking him in was all part of their plan. Everything that happened to Omi while he was there was methodical. Schuldig using him as his puppet… Nagi befriending him to make him think he had a friend in all of this…" Ken shook his head. "I…think I can understand a little about how Aya feels, but I still wish he wouldn't blame himself. I don't think it was his fault that we lost Omi. Do you?"

"Hell no." Ken nodded. Yohji rested on his arms on the table. "So…we'll find out how to deal with this Omi and Nagi situation after we set Aya and Omi up." Ken gave him a blank look.

"I'm not doing something like that."

"You will because I'm asking nicely." Ken looked shocked.

"Like hell, you are."

"Come on, Ken!" Yohji said, getting irritated with Ken's lack of cooperation. "If Omi knows that Aya wants him, he'll want to be with him. Then, he'll be so infatuated with Aya that he won't even think about this Nagi kid."

"But Aya isn't ready, Yohji. He's still in too much pain over everything."

"And who better to ease that pain than Omi himself?!" Yohji tried to get Ken to understand. "You know, they say opposites attract. They're, like, perfect for each other, Ken. Now, how are we going to do this?" Ken made a frustrated noise and got up.

"I don't know you," he said as he walked away. "I don't get you…I don't understand you at all…" Yohji followed and looked after him as he went into his room. Ken would come around eventually. Yohji wondered how Aya and Omi were faring on their own.

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Please review,

kaj


	7. Unison

Happy Thanksgiving! Here's Chapter 7!

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Closed eyes revealed a summery scene, sakura petals falling as gently and as plentifully as snow. Night was falling, but their beauty did not fade. The scene before him was and would forever be engraved in his heart.

M7: **Unison**

Omi was sitting on the bed with his chin on his knees. He was hugging himself tightly and he was crying. He had come in about ten minutes ago saying that he wanted to talk, but he hadn't said a single word since. Aya was more than worried, but he was afraid to get too close to Omi. He would never forgive himself for raising his hand to Omi, and the memory of it was still fresh in his mind.

Omi lifted his head and sniffed, facing Aya's window. Aya folded his arms tighter against his chest as he leaned against the door waiting for Omi to start talking. Aya knew that he'd forgiven him for having hurt him, but just as Omi still regretted having hurt Ken, Aya still held regret. At least Omi had an excuse. Aya had no reason to have lashed out at Omi as he did.

Omi was certainly weak and vulnerable now. He was tired often, and moody. At times, he barely knew what thoughts were his own. Aya wished there was something he could do for Omi, but he couldn't do it through Omi. As if Omi had been bitten by a vampire, the only thing for Aya to do was to take down the head vampire. The only thing left for him was to kill Schuldig and end _Weiß_' suffering.

Omi's sniffling brought him from his thoughts. Aya took in a deep breath. He was glad that Omi was home and was okay. He had thought earlier that he was sneaking out, but he was glad to see him in his pajamas. He had probably gotten something to eat from the kitchen. He wasn't thinking of leaving _Weiß_, Aya assured himself. Some kid couldn't come between them and disrupt their bond. Until he decided to approach his little sister, Aya, these three were the only family he had and he wasn't going to lose them to _Schwarz_.

Omi lowered his legs and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. He looked over to Aya. He looked like a child who'd lost his puppy and just discovered it wasn't ever coming back. Aya's arms tightened again as he straightened out his body on the door. Maybe Omi would find it easier to talk if Aya was closer.

Aya walked over to the bed and sat down on the other end of it. Omi was watching him expectantly; did he think that Aya was going to be the one to talk first? Aya lifted his face towards the ceiling. There were things he wanted to discuss with Omi. They were alone now, and supposed to be talking. But Omi was the one who came to Aya, so then, should Aya let him lead in conversation when he was ready? Omi's tears had subsided, but his lips were pouting and he was picking at the cuticles of his thumbs with his pointer fingers.

"Omi?" Omi looked at him quickly.

"Yes, Aya?"

"What…did you want to talk about?" Omi's fingers stopped moving. He raised one hand and chewed on his thumbnail.

"Will you tell me…about what happened that day?" he asked. Aya's **eyes** narrowed. Why was he bringing that up again? Was he trying to get Aya on the defensive for some reason?

"Why?" Aya asked. "Haven't you convinced yourself that I betrayed you and let you fall into the hands of _Schwarz_?" Omi's eyes saddened. Aya wouldn't take back his assessment. Omi had been throwing it in his face so much that he was irritable beyond words about it.

"No, Aya… I haven't. I had this dream…and in my dream you saved me." Omi proceeded to tell Aya what he had told Yohji in the same detail. Aya's defensive demeanor melted away as he realized that what Omi was recounting was not just a dream. It was a memory, the exact memory of the day they'd lost him. Omi was giving him what he needed desperately. Verification. Validation. Forgiveness. Aya's hands were clenched tightly. He stared at Omi, thankful that he knew, thankful that he could remember. Aya had been so afraid that Omi would never remember and would never believe him when he told him he'd tried to save him.

"Omi…" he murmured. "I…I don't know what to say…"

"You don't have to say anything if you don't want to…" Omi said. "I…was really out of line when I tried to make you out to be the bad guy…" Omi pushed his hair back and kept his hands behind his head. "I…never had a dream like that one before…" Omi said. "I mean…I had started crying in my dream… It's because…it felt so real. It felt as if…I'd really lived through that with you and I was so sorry. It wasn't anything like my other dreams."

"Your other dreams?" Aya asked. Omi nodded.

"Yeah…" he said and he looked sullen. "In my other dreams…everything doesn't seem right. I mean…sometimes you have a dream and it means nothing to you, or it scares you or it makes you think about stuff, but these dreams… Something just doesn't seem right."

"I don't understand."

"I don't feel like…they are _my_ dreams. I feel like…somehow when I'm sleeping, I'm dreaming someone else's dreams." Aya didn't know what that felt like. He turned to Omi slightly, wanting more of an explanation.

"What happens, exactly?"

"All these weird things… They feel like memories and experiences that I never went through, but it's me that's going through them…" Omi shook his head.

"You mean…your experiences with _Schwarz_."

"I don't know."

"How could you not know?"

"Well, I mean… It's not like I can see any faces or anything…" Omi said. "It's like…I'm doing stuff around the factory and everything else is sort of blurry. When people talk to me, their voices are slowed and muffled… Nothing seems right…and I wake up feeling sluggish and lost. That's…why I don't sleep much anymore. I don't want to have those dreams anymore." Aya reached up and touched his shoulder.

"You mentioned a factory? What does that mean to you?" Omi looked ahead as if he was concentrating very hard on something.

"The factory…is where I work in my dreams."

"What do you do?"

"I don't know…it's blurry. I work with my hands… I think with a computer, but sometimes, I'm positive it's not a computer. Sometimes, I just make really odd motions." Omi raised his arms and starting moving his hands one as if he was storing something and the other as if he was stamping something. "I feel like I'm on a production line in a factory. Everything is sort of sterile and metallic and dark." Omi lowered his hands slowly. "But last night…that was the first time I had a dream and felt like I was really there. I felt like…I was really with you and in the water… I felt real fear and sadness…"

"This…is good, Omi. It may mean that you are regaining more and more of yourself… I think…it's best to keep you here, where they won't be able to affect you. The least contact you have with them, the better it is for you."

"I…I understand…" Omi said. Aya watched him carefully. Why did he look so defeated? Did it hurt him to hear that he wouldn't be able to have contact with his captors? Aya turned to him further, pushing Omi back slightly by the shoulder so that he would turn to Aya, also.

"What is it?" he asked. "You sound down about that."

"No, I'm not," Omi said, and he was clearly lying. Aya tried to keep his eyes from narrowing, but he couldn't help it. He absolutely hated being lied to.

"You're…still thinking about meeting him, aren't you…?" he asked. Omi's hesitation to answer was all Aya needed. Aya stood up and paced the room. Omi watched him, and he looked to be preparing himself mentally for a scolding. Aya wouldn't scold him. He had lost his temper the last time he'd done that, so he wouldn't take that route again. He stopped by his window and stared out into the darkness of the night. There was only so much he could do to protect Omi. Only so much he could protect him from. Omi had to decide for himself what he wanted. He had to make the conscious decision to keep away from _Schwarz_ so that he could have a fighting chance at staving off their evil influences. If not, he would continue to knowingly and willingly put himself and the members _Weiß_ in danger.

Aya gently stroked the petals of the nearest flowers and tried to calm his nerves. He thought through carefully how he would tell Omi how he felt about the situation. Even with the bad influences, Omi had still maintained his intelligence. He would understand if Aya told him, and he would make a decision one way or the other.

"O—"

"I've always admired you, Aya…" Omi said quietly. He was crying again; Aya could tell from the sound of his voice. Aya stiffened and waited for what Omi would say. "I've always admired you… From the first time I met you, you were always…so interesting to me. I didn't care how much you scowled and snapped at us, I didn't care about any of that. Because…once I had my first mission with you, I knew that we were friends and that we would always be friends. You have to know that…all this crap that's happened… It wasn't me, Aya… I would never hurt you and you would never hurt me. I would never hurt Ken… Oh…God… Even when I see that in my dreams I can just hear myself screaming at myself to stop… It's…so terrible… Your body moves on its own accord and there's nothing you can do… It's the most terrible feeling I've ever had…"

"Then you realize what you have to do…" Aya said, starting cautiously. Omi was reawakening now. Rediscovering himself. He was on a rocky edge, teetering; trying to decide to plunge into self realization, or to fall back into the safety of the false security _Schwarz_ had given him. Pushing him too soon would do more harm than good. "You realize that even if you and Nagi are genuine friends, Schuldig will interfere and cause you pain."

"Oh…God…" Omi started crying, but his sobs were muffled. Aya closed his eyes. He was so fed up with Omi crying. He cried too much. He cried too much for one person, it wasn't healthy. All the stresses in his life. All the heartache and pain. It wouldn't end for Omi. Aya couldn't end it for Omi. He could never cheer Omi up completely, no matter what he did. No matter how much he wanted to. He never wanted Omi to have to cry again. He never wanted him to feel so lost and helpless that he could do nothing but cry.

Aya lifted from the window and turned to Omi. Omi had his face buried in his hands and he was wailing. Aya walked over to him and kneeled in front of him. He forced his hands from his face and followed it when Omi tried to look away. Omi squirmed, but Aya held him in place. He looked at him with the calmest, most sympathetic expression he could muster. He found it wasn't so hard. The sight of Omi falling apart that way had already invoked those feelings in him.

"Omi, look at me…" he said. "Look at me, Omi. It's okay." Omi sniffed heavily and looked down at Aya, his face puffy, wet and red. His lips were pouting and quivering and he was trying hard to stop his tears from flowing. "I can be…" Aya swallowed hard and loosened his grip. His voice. Why was it breaking? "I can be Nagi for you, Omi… I can be…your best friend. You don't have to look elsewhere. Let me be the shoulder for you to cry on, Omi…" Omi was staring at him, partly in disbelief and partly in hesitant appreciation. Aya accepted it. He wasn't the type to say or do these things. But somehow, it felt natural. He wasn't lying, and he wanted Omi to understand that. He squeezed Omi's hands and nodded, hoping Omi could see his sincerity.

"Aya-_kun_…" Omi gasped.

"I'm going to be here for you." Aya said.

"Aya-_kun_!" Omi came forward off of the bed and into Aya's arms after letting free his hands. Aya clasped his arms around him and patted him on the back. Omi was crying again; Aya would let him. He would let him cry until he couldn't anymore. He would let him cry until it was no longer part of his everyday. Omi rested of all his weight into Aya and Aya held him easily. One day, someday soon, all would be right in the house of _Weiß, _Aya was sure of it. Once _Schwarz_ was rid of, and once Omi was freed. Everything would be all right.

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Please review,

kaj


	8. Connection

_He had to try. He didn't have it in him to stay away. There was so much hidden inside that he needed to express, so many things he missed, so many thoughts and memories he tried to grasp, but that never fully presented themselves, and therefore, that he couldn't embrace. He longed to and could do nothing less but promise himself that he would._

M8: **Connection**

Omi's eyes were large and gleaming as he looked about the cages of puppies on display at the local shelter. He had his hands clasped together and was oohing and aahing at the animals, all of different shapes, sizes and colors, some wagging their tails with excitement, some napping and others eating and drinking water.

"**Lucky**!" Omi gasped. "_Suge' koinu da ne_? _Yokatta_!" Ken patted his back with a chuckle. "I wish I could take them all home," Omi said.

"Well, you can't," Ken said. "You have to pick one." Omi pouted cutely as he turned his attention back to the puppies. Ken walked over to the large pane of glass and stared down to the first floor where the small animals were. Yohji and Aya were standing at the fish tanks talking. Ken looked at Omi, then back down at the others.

By the Fish Tanks

"It'll be a nice change for us," Yohji was saying. Aya's eyes were fixed on the fish tank ahead and he was as stoic as usual. Ever since Aya and Omi had had their talk, Omi had become clingy and always looked to Aya no matter how small the issue. Yohji didn't mind; this was what he wanted. Aya seemed to be taking it fine, so there were no worries there, either. However, Aya was now concerned about two things: one was Omi's venture into the outside world and two was the fact that he'd seriously made the decision to get a pet.

"It seems like trouble to me," Aya said. Yohji shrugged lightly and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Sure it's trouble," he said. "But everything's going to be all right because Omi has us to help him."

"Having a pet, especially a dog, is hard work."

"Omi can handle it."

"It's not that I think he can't handle it…" Aya said. "Something about it…just feels irresponsible."

"We all told him he could," Yohji said. Aya nodded.

"I know. But it doesn't change the facts, Yohji. Omi has a profession where death is constantly imminent. This is the same reason why we can't allow ourselves to be with other people, and have deep relationships. It's irresponsible. Should something happen to him, or to all of us, it would leave this pet alone with no one to care for it."

"But that's not going to happen," Yohji said.

"Don't be so naïve," Aya scolded. Yohji twisted his mouth at him.

"I'm not being naïve," he said. "There's a chance that something bad could happen to anyone, regardless of their situation. It doesn't mean that we shouldn't give one of these pets a home." Yohji stepped closer to the fish tank and poked at it, trying to get the attention of the fish inside of it. They swam by, seeming to ignore him, seeming haughty in the way they sashayed gently in the water. Yohji smirked. "You're like a fish," he said.

"What?"

"You're just like a fish, Aya." Aya snorted.

"Yes," he said. "I'm the fish. I'm the fish and you're the rabbit."

Near the Kennels

"Ken-_kun_…_mite_." Ken stepped away from the window and over to Omi. Omi was kneeling on the floor in front of a small brown and white puppy looking out sadly at Omi. Omi was matching his solemn expression as he petted the paw that the puppy had extended to him.

"The poor guy," Omi said. "He looks so sad, Ken-_kun_. What do you think he's so sad about…?"

"I don't know," Ken said. He kneeled next to Omi and regarded the puppy. Its eyes were fixed on Omi's. Ken smiled. They were the same "puppy dog eyes" that often got Omi whatever he wanted. The puppy was laying the act on thick and Omi was falling head over heels.

"He is just too precious…" Omi said. "Do you want to come home with me, little one?" The puppy whined and licked his chops. Omi cooed at it. "Ken…I think I've found the perfect one." Omi sniffed and leaned closer. "You're going to come home with me, okay?" he said. Ken patted Omi's shoulder.

"All right. You should go tell the clerk now."

"Okay. I think I'll go to the bathroom first, okay? If Yohji and Aya come up here, don't tell them which one. I want to tell them."

"Sure, Omi." Ken stood up. Omi waved shortly and left to find the bathroom. He didn't see any signs, so he asked the cashier.

"It's there, just beyond the second set of kennels, young man."

"Thank you." Omi bowed to her, and then followed her directions. He went into the bathroom and entered the nearest stall. A few seconds later, he heard the door open, and then nothing else. As he used the bathroom he wondered how come the person wasn't doing anything he could hear. Omi flushed and opened the door. He rounded the edge of the stall, startled as he spotted a pair of sapphire blue eyes reflecting in the mirror, zoned in on him.

"Na…Nagi-_kun_?" Omi gasped. Nagi turned quickly, a bright smile on his face.

"Omi-_chan_!" Omi raised his hands in surprise as Nagi tried to hug him. Nagi grabbed him tightly within his arms.

"Nagi…"

"Omi, I'm so glad I ran into you… I've missed you so much."

"Oh…Nagi-_kun_…" Omi calmed down. He didn't feel like he was in any danger and Nagi was genuinely happy to see him.

"Omi…what are you doing here?"

"I'm going to get a pet," Omi said. "I found a dog I want."

"That's…so cool." Nagi let Omi go, but stayed standing very close to him. "I've missed you so much, Omi. And you haven't been online since that day we talked. I…was beginning to think that you were avoiding me." Omi shook his head.

"No, nothing like that, Nagi…" he said. "What are you doing here?"

"Never mind about that," Nagi said. "I've been waiting so long to see you again, Omi… You have to come away with me."

"W—what?" Omi asked. Nagi nodded eagerly.

"I know it's soon, but…I think this is a good time, Omi. You and I…we could get away and live together like we planned."

"Oh…Nagi…I can't do anything like that… I live with the guys now…I'm a member of _Weiß_. We're enemies…Nagi." Nagi's eyes turned icy.

"Are you refusing me, Omi?" he asked.

"Nagi…I don't have any memories of what happened when I lived with you," Omi said. "But…I do know that you and I…we're on opposing teams."

"We've already been over this, though, Omi. We don't have to do these things anymore. We can break away from this black and white prison and we can be together in peace."

"I…don't know all of what we did when we were together Nagi…but…"

"You really don't remember?" Nagi asked. Omi shook his head. Nagi stepped closer and Omi took a step back. "Don't, Omi. Don't walk away from me. I…I went through a lot of trouble to come to see you. I can't bear for you to do that."

"I'm…I'm sorry…"

"I remember you said that you don't remember a lot because you were asleep," Nagi said. "But don't worry. When you come away with me, I'll sure all of those things will come back to you."

"But…Nagi…" Nagi grabbed Omi by the wrist as he tried to turn away.

"Omi," Nagi said sternly. He forced Omi to make eye contact with him. "I've prepared everything. All I need now is you."

"Nagi…" Omi said firmly. "We're _enemies_. Even if you and I were to quit _Weiß_ and _Schwarz_, the others wouldn't just let us be, Nagi. And how could we ever trust each other…having friends on opposing teams…"

"Schuldig and Crawford mean nothing to me," Nagi said. "_Schwarz_ means nothing to me. All I want is you, Omi. All I want…"

"I…I just don't think it would work…" Omi said, looking away sadly. "I remember…that you and I are close. I remember that you and I shared a room and we talked a lot."

"We're in love, Omi," Nagi said, pulling him closer. Omi felt sorry for Nagi, but there was nothing he could do to change the fact that he was dedicated to Aya and the others. Aya had fulfilled the empty, longing part of him that had caused so much confusion in his heart. Aya had made it easy to decide to stay with _Weiß_ no matter what.

"I won't turn my back on _Weiß_, Nagi." Nagi's eyes narrowed and his grip on Omi increased.

"You can keep in touch with them if it means so much to you, Omi," he said, but his tone didn't match his words.

"We might be ordered to come after you again, Nagi," Omi said carefully**.** "If an order comes down for us to kill you…to kill…_Schwarz_…I'll have to."

"It wouldn't be _me_," Nagi said earnestly. "Not anymore. We were going to denounce _Weiß_ and _Schwarz_, and move away. I'm going to leave all of that behind, Omi. I'll do it…I'll do it for us."

"Nagi…" Nagi shook his head to quiet him.

"I…I was waiting for you to come around, but you never did. You never contacted me like you said you would. I began to miss you so badly. Those days you stayed with us, Omi, were the greatest days of my life."

"Aya said you guys forced me to cook for you and do other things beyond my will…" Omi said. Nagi managed a short smile, and he shook his head again.

"I thought you liked cooking. You are very good at it."

"I'm…just really confused about a lot of things," Omi said. "How did you guys wind up with me? Did you pull me up from the water…?"

"We were all split up," Nagi said, letting Omi go very slowly. "I…found my way back to our headquarters and then Crawford showed up. We were there for about a week just me and him. We didn't talk to each other much or anything. Then…Schuldig came and he told us he had a little present."

"Oh? What was it?" Nagi reached up and poked Omi in the forehead with his pointer finger.

"You," he said. Omi's eyes flickered. "So…I don't know what really happened. But…he made us share my room and we talked a lot, you and I."

"I remember that…" Omi said. He rubbed his upper arm, his eyes on the floor. "I remember that I did really like you…" Nagi's eyes narrowed.

"You're in love with me," he said. "You told me that you loved me. Just come with me and I'll make sure that you remember."

"Whether I remember or not, Nagi, we can't be together if I'm to remain a member of _Weiß_. I made a promise to Aya and the others that I would be there for them."

"You promised me first, Omi!" Nagi spat and Omi backed up. It was very unfamiliar for him to see Nagi lose his composure this way. Omi hated the fact that he was upsetting Nagi so much, especially considering how far he would go to appease Omi. However, it was now a one-sided love that Omi could never return and Nagi needed to understand that. Omi shrank away from him, pitying him with his expression.

"Don't yell…" he said gently.

"You told me…you loved me and that you would come away with me, Omi…" Nagi was beginning to look defeated. Omi leaned against the closest wall and shook his head slightly. "So you won't? You won't come with me?"

"I can't, Nagi."

"You promised me first…"

"I'm dedicated to _Weiß_," Omi said. "I wasn't…even completely aware of myself when I was living with you… I was under Schuldig's control. I can't…take responsibility for what I did when I was there, Nagi. I have…I have to—" Quickly, Nagi took Omi by the arm and dragged him into the nearest stall. He closed and locked it, knocking Omi's hands away when he tried to stop him. Omi protested, but Nagi clamped his hand over Omi's mouth hard enough that his head slammed into the stall wall.

The bathroom door opened. Omi heard quiet footsteps, and then nothing. There was a ruffle of clothes and then Ken's voice. Omi tried to push away from Nagi, but Nagi clamped his fingers painfully along his jaw. Omi realized it would be easy for him to kill him as they were positioned. His fear only heightened as he heard Nagi responding to Ken's call in a voice eerily similar to his own.

Outside the Stalls

"Omi?"

"Oh, gomen, Ken," Omi said from the first stall. "I'll be out in just a minute…"

"Okay," Ken said. "Aya's with the puppy now. He's getting his shots and tags and everything."

"Great!" Ken caught his reflection in the mirror and walked over to it to check himself out.

"It's going to be so cool having a dog around the place," he said. "I can't wait."

"Neither can I, Ken. Can you tell Aya that I'll be just a minute? I'll meet you guys upstairs, okay?"

"Sure thing, Omi." Ken left the bathroom and took the elevator back up to the small clinic where Aya was waiting. Arms folded and looking curious, Aya was standing next to one of the tables watching the selected puppy calmly sit through his routine check up. Aya turned to Ken as he saw him approaching.

"How's Omi?" he asked.

"Oh, he's fine," Ken said. "He said he'll be just a minute." Aya nodded, and then tilted his head.

"You should have stayed with him. He won't know where to find us."

"Well, he said he'd meet us up here."

"Up where?"

"Upstairs." Aya stiffened.

"How can he meet us in a place he isn't aware of?"

"What…do you mean?" Ken asked.

"This is…all of our first times here… The location of the clinic is only known to purchasers. The doctor just told me herself."

"Well, Omi could have asked," Ken said, shrugging. "But it's odd… I thought Omi would be mad at me."

"Omi mad?" Aya asked.

"Well not _mad_ mad… Just upset."

"Why?"

"He asked me not to tell you guys which puppy he wanted. He wanted to surprise you guys and I completely forgot. I thought he would get mad that I told you guys, but he didn't realize it, I guess. You know…being in the bathroom and all." Aya's brain looked like it was working overtime. Ken stepped closer to him, watching the doctor give the puppy a shot, hoping that Aya would turn his attention to it as well. Aya started to turn back to the table, but then he stopped.

"Did you see him, Ken?"

"Who…Omi?" Aya didn't answer. Ken shook his head slightly, the foreboding feeling that he'd done something terribly wrong starting to eat away at him. "No…but I talked to him. He was in the first stall in the bathroom."

"Still?" Aya asked. "Did he tell you…he wasn't feeling well…to still be in the bathroom this long?" Ken shook his head.

"But I talked to him and he sounded fine, Aya."

"There was no indication of…?" Aya's voice trailed off slowly. Ken swallowed hard as Aya's eyes turned steely. Without another word Aya took off from the clinic.

"Aya!" Ken called after him, but he was already out of sight.

Inside the First Stall

Nagi unclamped his hand from Omi's mouth and Omi quickly pushed away from him. He unlocked the stall and hurried out of it. He felt something pull back on his foot and he toppled onto the floor. He held his hands out to break his fall, but he still hit his jaw on the ground. Nagi kneeled next to him quickly and turned him over.

"Don't be so clumsy," he said. "Did you hurt yourself?"

"Why did you do that?" Omi asked, scooting away from him. "Why did you imitate me…if I can really trust you?"

"Whether you can or can't won't change the fact that you already don't Omi," Nagi said. "I can't have them know that I was here. They're the ones that make you distrust me so much, aren't they?"

"It's your own actions. You keep hurting me. You…you tripped me."

"You tripped over your own two feet in haste," Nagi said angrily. Omi narrowed his eyes.

"Sure I did," he said. He helped himself to his feet and stepped away from Nagi. "Look…right now…I just want to go be with my friends and get my puppy, Nagi."

"I can give you time," Nagi said, standing also. "I'm not so inconsiderate that…I wouldn't give you time."

"I'm not asking for time," Omi said. "I'm asking for you to—" The door to the bathroom burst open and Aya appeared around the protruding wall. Startled, Omi looked to Nagi. Nagi was gone.

"Omi!" Aya hurried over to him and grasped him by the shoulders. "Who were you talking to?"

"What?" Omi asked. "Uh…"

"Was it Schuldig again?" Aya asked. Omi shook his head.

"Aya, what's wrong?" he asked. "Everything's okay, right?"

"I thought I heard you talking just now, Omi…" Aya said, calming down.

"I was…" Omi said, looking sheepish.

"But there was no one here…?" Aya asked.

"I was just thinking aloud…" Omi said. "About the past…"

"And no one gave you any trouble…?" Aya asked. Omi grabbed Aya's wrists gently.

"It's okay. I told you I'll tell you if I feel like I need help, right."

"You couldn't if you were under his control," Aya said. Omi let him go and hugged him.

"It's fine, Aya. Please don't worry." Omi loosened his grip and looked up at Aya. "So you've seen the puppy, right? Isn't he just darling, Aya?" Aya's eyes softened.

"He's…a good pick Omi." Omi nodded once.

"He's beautiful**.** Will you help me name him?"

"Sure." Omi took Aya by the wrist and led him from the bathroom. Then Aya walked him to the elevator.

"Omi?"

"Yes, Aya?"

"How did you know that…we were upstairs?"

"What…do you mean?"

"You told Ken…that you would meet us upstairs, but how did you know that we were there?" Omi smiled at him, quickly thinking up a lie.

"Ken mentioned it," he said. "He said you were upstairs with the puppy, so I figured I could find you guys there when I was done." Aya seemed to understand. He nodded and stepped onto the elevator after Omi.

Later, as Omi, Ken and the puppy sat in the car waiting on Aya and Yohji, Ken turned to Omi eagerly.

"Is Aya mad at me?" he asked. "He wouldn't talk to me at all when you guys got upstairs."

"No, I don't think he's mad, Ken. I think he was nervous."

"About…what?" Omi pointed out the car window as Aya emerged from the pet store with Yohji in tow. In the cart Yohji pushed was a medium sized wire cage and a fish tank, among other things.

"They…they got pets?" Ken asked, leaning over Omi to see them better. Omi chuckled.

"I know… I was surprised, too, when Aya asked to see one of the rabbits. But I think it's great," Omi said. "I'm really happy for them." Ken pouted and slumped.

"Everybody got a new companion but me…" he said. Omi smiled and tousled his hair.

"We'll come back, Ken," Omi said. "We'll come back when your season is over and we'll get a pet for you, too." Ken rubbed his chin, nodding.

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah…we'll do that."

The chapters will come faster the next two weeks because the end of school is nearing and I won't have immediate access to the internet to post for you guys... So... I might have to stop after the 14th until around Christmas or the New Year. It depends on when I know I can use someone's computer to post. No matter what, I won't leave like I did the last time! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed :smooch: Luv ya!

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Please review,

kaj


	9. Commemoration

Somehow…I feel that this is a misfit chapter. It may seem irrelevant, but please welcome it with open arms. Ken's important too, you know?

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_

After months and months of preparation, he was sad to see that it was over. Nothing would strike the good times from him; nothing would cause his memories to fade. However, he would forever remain saddened by one fact: All good things must come to an end.

M9: **Commemoration**

Ken leapt up and dove at a 45 degree angle, blocking the soccer ball just as it sailed past the poles of the net. He landed hard on the grass and slid from the slickness of the ground. He could hear the small crowd going wild; his team had just won the game. The tie breaking goal the opposing team desperately needed in order to win had been blocked. By Ken. Ken had the euphoric feeling he always had after winning a tight game flow quickly through his veins. He barely felt himself being lifted from the ground. Next thing, he was on a strong pair of shoulders with many cameras flashing in his direction. He was smiling widely and pumping his hands in the air and his teammates were patting and swatting at him in excitement.

They had won the last and toughest game of the season. They were all tired and worn out and yet too excited to call it a day. By the time the crowds dispersed, and they'd all showered and changed, it was nearing six and Ken was dying for something to eat. As they piled into the team van, he suggested they grab a bite. Several of them agreed with him, but others were still talking the game over and hadn't heard him. Ken smiled at his teammates, loving the sense of camaraderie he felt being with them.

Then, Yamamoto Masami, a veteran player and former J-Leaguer like Ken, spoke up from near the back doors of the cramped interior of the van.

"I have an idea," he said, trying to speak over the noise. People stopped talking to look at him. He was their main sponsor and team captain; when he spoke, everyone listened. "Ken's right, we should get something to eat. But I propose we go someplace swank to celebrate."

"What, dressed like this?" another teammate asked. Araki Hideki, seated next to Ken on the floor, shooed at him.

"Sounds great," he said. "Where to?"

"Ken, why don't you pick," Yamamoto said. Ken was taken aback.

"Me? I…wouldn't even know where to begin."

"Well, don't you go out?" Yamamoto asked him. Ken raised an eyebrow at him.

"Me?" he asked again. "When I'm out, I'm with you guys and coaching…" he said.

"Well, where do you take the ladies after games, Ken?" Araki asked. Ken chuckled at him and rubbed his hair.

"I don't have time for romance," he said. "I'm too busy at home."

"Sheesh," Yamamoto said. "Too busy for tail?" His expression portrayed his inability to wrap his head around that fact. He shrugged. "Well, anyway, anyone else have any suggestions?"

"Yeah, who's paying?" a voice rang out.

"Me, of course," Yamamoto said. Knowing he was loaded beyond compare, hearing that led the others to start shouting out where they wanted to go. Yamamoto laughed at them all, finding the situation humorous.

"Let's try that new place!" Araki said finally. "The one that opened last week."

"The fancy French place?" Yamamoto asked. He put his hand to his chin and nodded slowly. "Sounds good. Not bad Araki-_kun_. Not bad at all." The conversations began to buzz again. Ken sat back against the back of the driver's seat and relaxed. Suddenly, his cell phone rang. It was Omi. Ken climbed into the passenger's seat to take the call.

"Hey, Omi, what's up?"

"We just got your message, Ken, congratulations!" Omi said. Ken chuckled into the phone, his excitement starting to rise again.

"Thanks," he said. "The guys and I are going to go out to eat now to celebrate."

"Oh, how neat! Where?"

"I don't know the name of it, but it's a fancy French place apparently."

"It's so great that you guys are going to do that. It sounds like so much fun. So…you won't be joining us for dinner?" Out of all the things they did together, Omi seemed to value eating meals more than anything. Ken didn't want to disappoint him.

"Hey, I will," Ken said. "I can save my appetite."

"But…it sounds like you're going to have dinner right now…"

"If you want me to come home for dinner, Omi, I will." Araki poked his head into the driver's compartment and looked at Ken, confused.

"No, no, Ken. You go out and have fun with your friends. I'll just lessen the recipe."

"Are you sure?"

"Oh, definitely. We'll see you when you get home. Don't party too hard."

"I won't. Thanks."

"Have fun, Ken." Ken hung up and looked at Araki as he climbed back into the back of the van.

"What was that?" Araki asked. "Talking to your chick?"

"Don't be silly, that was Omi." Araki loosened up.

"Oh… The boy with the honey blonde hair…blue eyes?" Ken nodded.

"Yep."

"I thought he moved away."

"Oh, he's back," Ken said. "Now the four us live together again." Araki nodded and seemed to be thinking about it.

"So…how come he doesn't come to the games anymore?" he asked. Ken shrugged, though he knew why.

"Omi doesn't get out much," he said.

"Well, why?"

"He's still settling down after having been away for all that time."

"He should start coming to the games," Araki said. "It'll be cool. He bakes, right?"

"Yeah…sometimes…"

"He brought juice and brownies last time he came. They tasted good as hell. Like…homemade."

"Yeah, he baked them, but he only does it for special occasions."

"Well, he should make us something for winning today." Ken quirked an eyebrow at Araki.

"What's with you?" he asked. "You want some brownies, make them yourself."

"Yeah, right. Me, baking?" Araki laughed it off. "So are you going to ask him, or what?"

"No," Ken said. "He's busy."

"What does that mean, he's busy?" Araki asked. "It doesn't take that long to make some brownies."

"Then you make them," Ken said, laughing at him. Araki frowned. "What's with you and brownies?"

"Sometimes, you just have something that's downright phenomenal and then you have a taste for it for life after that. My Grandma Nonni used to make brownies…the really chunky kind. When the Omi kid brought his brownies around…I mean it was like Grandma Nonni all over again." Ken was still chuckling.

"All right, all right, I'll see what I can do about the brownies," he said. "You're strange, Araki, you know that?"

"Have him bring them to the award ceremony." Ken knew about Aya's hesitance to let Omi out of the house. It would be nice if Omi could come, but it was unlikely that Aya would agree to it.

"No, I'll pack them and bring them," Ken said.

"Why?" Araki said. "Come on, it's not going to kill you to bring him along."

"I just told you he doesn't get out much."

"Do any of you guys get out?"

"Yohji does," Ken said.

"Well how old is he?" Araki asked.

"Twenty-three," Ken said with a nod.

"He's old," Araki said. "How about that Omi kid?"

"He turned 18 this winter." Araki made a face.

"He don't look 18 to me," he said. Ken nodded again.

"Omi doesn't look 18 to anybody," he said. "We tease him about it a lot."

"Hm…" Araki drummed his hands on his knees.

"Twenty-three isn't that old," Ken said. "We're almost twenty-three." Araki laughed loudly about something, then turned to Ken.

"Oh, man, I can't wait until you turn 21, Ken," he said. "That's going be too much fun."

"I'm not hanging out with you guys for my birthday. You think I don't remember what happened when I turned 18? You guys are nuts."

"Oh, come on, Ken…" Yamamoto said, cutting into their conversation. "We had more fun in that one night than you've had in your whole life, isn't that right?"

"I wouldn't agree," Ken grumbled. "I had a hangover the next day and couldn't do anything."

"That was the morning after," Yamamoto said, shrugging widely. "But that night, you lived like a King and you know it. You were the last of us to turn 18, so we had to make it special, you know? You couldn't come to any of our bashes, so we had to make up for it."

"Yeah," Araki said, giving Ken a fake punch to the chin. "And this year, being the last to turn 21…it's going to be a blast." Ken pushed him away playfully.

"With any luck, I'll be in Hawaii for Christmas," he said.

"There's fun to be had in Hawaii," Yamamoto said, his body straightening with eagerness. "Oh, hell, Ken. Why didn't you say you wanted to go there earlier? We could have planned something."

"It's not too late," Araki said. "Fall's only just starting."

"We're going to party so hard," a voice from the crowd said and the others started talking about it. Ken feared for his sanity.

"What kind of person goes on vacation and parties?" he asked himself. Araki gave him an odd look.

"You crazy?" he asked. "That's what vacations are for." Ken lowered his head. This wouldn't be the first time his big mouth got him into trouble. Araki perked and snapped his finger. "Hey, I just realized. If we go to Hawaii, that Omi kid could go, too."

"What's brownies got to do with…?" Ken's voice trailed off as he realized just what Araki was really asking for. He'd just gotten through having a conversation like this one with Yohji, but now he was hearing it from Yohji's point of view. Could it be déjà vu if he had to switch places with someone? Ken pouted at Araki. Did Araki know that he was basically telling Ken that he liked Omi? Ken prayed he didn't.

"Well, not just brownies. The kid is fun," Araki was saying. "He was the life of the party the last time he went to Masami's with us."

"He felt out of place…" Ken said. Ken had felt out of place, too, even though he was among his friends.

"But he looked so…excited about everything," Araki said.

"It's his nature. I mean…he did have fun, but still. He felt a little out of place."

"That's too bad…" Araki said. "Next time, invite him when the crowd is small. He can really play Tekken, he whipped me good." Ken chuckled.

"Omi doesn't even play games, but whenever he picks up anything electronic, he's like a master at it. He's cool."

"So you see why I want him to hang. You said he doesn't play soccer, right? We can change that."

"Omi's more into art," Ken said. "Like…before, we used to go to museums together."

"You, in a museum?"

"Omi got me into it. I mean…I didn't really like art much until after he left. Then…I don't know. I just started drawing and stuff."

"That's cool," Araki said indifferently. "But I guess now he's too busy to go, then, huh?"

"Go?"

"To a museum, or whatever."

"Yeah," Ken said. "Though…it would be nice to do it again…" Araki nodded.

"Hey, ask him and we'll all go together." Ken evened his eyes out at Araki and thought to himself, 'are you sure I wouldn't be a third wheel?'

"Maybe," Ken said.

"I'll call you," Araki said, nodding. "So…who is Omi to you, anyway? You said you weren't related, but I don't know."

"Why would I lie?" Ken asked. Araki shrugged.

"I don't know," he said. Ken folded his arms and gave him a stern look.

"Omi's one of my best friends," he said seriously. "He's like a little brother to me."

"Don't get all noble on me," Araki said, punching him with force in the arm. "I'm stronger than you, Ken."

"What, you gonna beat me up?"

"No. Just saying that I could if I had to."

"How did we get to you threatening me?" Ken asked, becoming confused. Araki chuckled.

"It's all in fun, dude, calm down."

"Humph." Ken unfolded his arms and relaxed. "Well, anyway, I can't wait to eat."

"You going home right after?" Araki asked.

"Yeah, I should."

"Then, hey. Tell the Omi kid I said hi."

"Sure."

Ken got home a little after nine. He dropped his things down in his room and was about to turn the TV on when someone knocked on the door.

"Hey, Ken-Ken?" Ken perked. Omi hadn't called him that in ages. Ken rushed over to the door and opened it.

"What's up, Omi?" Omi looked excited, and also like he was hiding something.

"Could you come into the kitchen, please?"

"Well, sure." Ken followed Omi into the living room, where Yohji was standing at the entrance of the kitchen blocking the way in.

"He's here, guys," Omi said. Yohji turned and stepped back a little. On the table was a small, round cheesecake with the words 'Congratulations, Ken!' in blue icing over the top. Ken felt his heart leap into his throat and he put his fist to his mouth. He didn't know what to say.

"Congratulations, man," Yohji said, patting him on the back as he walked him over to the table.

"Thanks, Yohji…" Ken said. Aya was standing near the sink with plates and forks.

"Congratulations," he said, nodding once.

"I hope you're still hungry, Ken," Omi said, clasping his hands. "I was so excited when I heard. I know you guys like to party, so…I didn't think you'd be home so soon. But I'm glad you're here. Congratulations!" Omi hugged him tightly.

"You guys…are the best…" Ken said. He was so excited, he could hardly breathe.

"Aw, you flatter," Yohji said. "Let's eat. Omi baked it special for you, Ken." Ken nodded, smiling down at Omi.

"Thanks, Omi," he said. "Really."

"I hope you like it," Omi said. "And congratulations again." Ken rubbed his hair then began to cut slices of the cake. He cut them big and placed them on the plates as Aya handed them to him. They stood around the kitchen eating while Ken told them about the game.

"You won the game?" Omi asked when Ken told him about having blocked the goal. "That's so awesome. Isn't that awesome, Aya?"

"It's incredible," Aya said, slowly eating his piece of cheesecake. Yohji went for another slice.

"Well, Ken's incredible," he said. "Being a goalie's not something just anybody could do."

"That's right," Omi said. "I've played before. It's absolutely crazy out there!" Ken perked.

"Oh…speaking of that…" he said. "Omi, do you remember Araki?"

"Hm?" Omi put a hand to his chin and thought about it. "Oh, the guy that likes games? He's a really lousy gamer, but he's good on the field, right?" Ken nodded.

"He was with me when you called. He says hi."

"Really?" Omi asked. "He remembers me?"

"Yep…" Ken said. "He wants you to start coming to the games again. I think it would be fun." Omi looked to Aya. Ken was certain that Aya would say no.

"Isn't the season over now?" Aya asked.

"Yeah…" Ken said. He looked to Omi. "But if you felt up to it, you could come to the ceremony. The guys really liked your brownies."

"My brownies?" Omi asked. He made an odd face and then smiled. "It sounds like fun…" he said. "Aya…would you come with me?"

"Sure," Aya said. Yohji stuffed the last of his cheesecake in his mouth, looking around at everyone.

"So…no invitation for me, huh?" he mumbled. Omi looked at Ken.

"He can come too, right?" he asked.

"Of course," Ken said. "It would be cool if we could all be there together." Omi looked eternally gleeful. Ken could help but smile at him.

"It's going to be so much fun," he said. "And I'll make brownies again, of course." He looked at Ken's plate and motioned towards it. "Is it good, Ken?"

"It's heaven," Ken said.

"I'll third that," Yohji said, reaching for his third slice.

"You keep going and you're going to have to hit the gym," Aya said. Yohji smirked and shook his head.

"Nah," he said. "I get plenty of exercise each night, _trust_ me."

"Oh, Yohji-_kun_," Omi said, playfully hitting his shoulder. Yohji chuckled at him.

"Sorry, _chibi_," he said and he continued eating his cheesecake.

* * *

Thank you for reading and please review,

kaj


	10. Appearance

I'm a sappy author. I'm not good at writing villians. I hate it when evil things happen; it always makes my stomach hurt whether I'm reading or writing. However, I have to face my fears. This story may start to get a little...dark. There will be some strange twists and lots of cliffhangers. Yeah... Please don't hate me.

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One never knows the power of their words until it is too late. Past utterances, time passes and life goes on, but for some, everything seems to cease. For one, life halted. For one, time completely stopped. A new chapter of fate was written and he would soon learn the power of rejection.

M10: **Appearance**

Omi sat face up in his bed thinking. Lately, things had been looking up for him. The best thing was that he got to talk to Yohji about his feelings. The also best thing was that he and Ken had become closer after having attended Ken's ceremony together. Another best thing was that Aya was really opening up to him. The bestest thing was that _Schwarz_, with the exception of Nagi, hadn't bothered them since that night by the bridge. But, the best bestest thing? Well, that was a little beagle puppy named Pomme De Terre.

Pomme was frisky, friendly and absolutely adored Omi. He was small and brown and white with dark brown spots here and there. He had cute floppy ears, a nice soft coat and beady little eyes. He was currently balanced on Omi's stomach and was sniffing at him and panting with excitement. Omi rubbed him on the underside of his snout and sniffed back at him.

There was a knock on the door, and Omi knew from listening that it was Ken. Pomme leapt to the floor and slid as he tried to get his footing. The shiny vinyl tile wasn't the best surface for a playful dog to walk on. Omi got up and opened the door.

"Hey, Ken," he said. Pomme was already at Ken's feet sniffing with excitement. Ken reached down and petted him.

"Hey, little fella."

"Come in, Ken," Omi said, stepping back for Ken to come inside the room. "What's the matter? Can't sleep?"

"Haven't tried." Ken walked in and closed the door. "How about you?" he asked. Omi shrugged.

"I'm not in the mood," he said. "Pomme-_chan_ and I are having too much fun, isn't that right?" Pomme was wagging his tail excitedly. Ken nodded.

"Can we talk, Omi?"

"Sure." Ken went over to Omi's computer and wheeled the chair towards the bed. Omi sat on his bed and turned to face him. "What's on your mind?" As Ken sat, Pomme got on his hind legs and put his palms on Ken's knees. Ken picked him up and sat him on his lap partly within his arms.

"I'm a little scared, Omi," Ken said.

"Of what? The spiders?" Ken chuckled a little. They did have a problem with spiders, and Ken had been heard more than once screaming at their presence and begging Aya to kill them for him. Of all the insects in existence, Ken only feared spiders. Omi had no idea why they freaked Ken out so much, but that was just how it was.

"No…not the spiders…" Ken said.

"Of what, then, Ken-_kun_."

"Of life itself…" Omi nodded and watched Ken closely. Ken stroked Pomme along his back and Pomme panted as he looked around the room.

"I don't think that you should be scared, Ken," Omi said. "You're one of the strongest people I know. You can protect yourself."

"I know…" Ken said. "But have you ever thought about what…lies ahead of us if we don't start accepting missions."

"We want missions," Omi said. "It's just that we haven't finished our last one yet. Once we do that, then things will be back to normal."

"I still worry. What's left for us in the world if we really did stop taking missions?"

"We could still be together," Omi said. "Definitely. It's not just the label of _Weiß_ that binds us now. I mean…all this time we've been friends and we used to run the flower shop together and everything. I think that…even if you guys wanted to quit _Weiß_, we could still be friends and hang out just like we do now. I don't mind it here. It's nice and quiet here. And with _Schwarz_ out of the picture, we won't be in any danger."

"So…you'd just want to go on living together like this?"

"You guys are…all I remember, Ken. Sometimes…I'm scared of life, too. I…can't imagine what life would be like for me without you guys. I mean…Growing up at headquarters was so miserable. I was so happy to be able to move into the apartments with you guys and work with you. I…I always stop myself from thinking about life without you."

"What about when you get older?" Ken asked. "Won't you want to move on and do other things…?"

"Like what?"

"Like…all the things people do. Get married and have children. Buy a house, things like that." Omi made a disagreeable face.

"Nuh-uh," he said. "I don't want to do those things. You do, Ken?"

"Some day." Omi became sad, but it was something he had to face. He couldn't keep Ken and Aya and Yohji the way he could keep Pomme. He didn't own them; they could do what they wanted. After _Weiß_, they could do what they wanted, whether or not it involved Omi. And if they moved on, that meant that Omi would have to move on, too. Omi chewed on his lower lip. Ken looked around the room, his eyes falling on Omi's computer. "Will he let you get on the internet?" he asked. After Aya had caught Omi talking with Nagi, he'd stripped him of his internet privileges, but after Aya and Omi became best friends, Aya lifted the restriction. Omi nodded at Ken.

"Yeah," he said. "Aya trusts me now. We're the best of friends now." Ken smirked at him.

"Yeah, I've noticed. You're tagging along with him a lot lately."

"I'm not tagging along," Omi said defensively. "We're hanging out together."

"Oh, I see…" Ken looked down at Pomme. He looked like he was trying to get to sleep. Omi reached and took him from Ken. The tiny beagle barely moved as Omi placed him in the dog bed at his feet. Listlessly, Pomme looked between them as if he wanted to stay awake, but his eyes were dropping. Omi rubbed his head and he seemed to fall asleep in that instant. Omi chuckled at him.

"That was fast," Ken said. "He was just up with us."

"He's had a long day. We ran around the block and sang and danced together today. They say beagles have to get out a lot."

"Omi?"

"Yeah?"

"How do you sing and dance with a dog?" Omi smiled and shrugged.

"That's just how it was. Little Pomme was dancing and making noises to the music. We had a lot of fun."

"I'm glad, Omi." Omi looked at him.

"About what?"

"That you're happy and smiling again." Omi poked himself in the cheek and grinned. Ken chuckled at him. "I think my friend has a crush on you…" he said. Omi's smile faded and he leaned in closer to him.

"Is it the one that kept asking me all those questions? Araki-_kun_?" Ken nodded. Omi waved his hand. "He doesn't have a crush on me."

"How do you know?"

"I just know." Ken scratched his temple.

"I don't know… He's always talking and asking about you lately." Omi pulled his legs under him.

"We talked at the ceremony. He didn't seem interested in me like that," Omi said. "And besides…I don't know. He's not my type."

"You…have a type?" Ken asked. He twisted his lips in question. "What…like that Nagi guy?"

"No," Omi said. "Let's just say that Nagi was my friend. I like…I don't know. Tall guys." Ken nodded. "Do you think I'm strange?"

"Why would I think you're strange…?" Ken asked.

"I don't know… Maybe it's because I likes guys…"

"I know guys that like guys," Ken said. "It's cool, I guess." Omi picked at his cuticles.

"It feels weird."

"What does?"

"Liking guys. Maybe…it's better to just find a woman and have children with her, but…I don't know. Girls make really good friends, but…I don't know. They're like…I don't know. It feels weird."

"Liking girls feels weird, too," Ken said. "It's just how it is, I guess." Omi bit at the skin flaking away from his nail.

"Do you have any friends that are girls?" he asked. Ken shook his head.

"No, not really."

"Well, how about a girlfriend?"

"I think if I had a girlfriend, you guys would know."

"Don't you ever get lonely, Ken-_kun_?" Ken nodded.

"Sure, but…it's not so bad that I feel like I have to run out and find someone right this instant. If I want to hang out, I'll ask you guys or the fellas at work." Omi nodded.

"Maybe you should still think about getting a pet. I haven't felt lonely or scared since I got this little guy." Pomme was completely conked out by that time. Omi smiled at him. "I love him. I think he loves me, too."

"Sure he does. You're his best pal now, after all. You bathe him and pet him and talk to him and dance with him. Feed him and take him for his walks. He probably loves you to death, Oms." Omi looked at Ken quickly.

"You haven't called me that in a long time," he said, chuckling a little. "What is that anyway?"

"What's a Ken-Ken?" Ken asked.

"You…" Omi said.

"Well, then, ditto," Ken said. Omi wanted to laugh, but he yawned instead. He was starting to feel tired just sitting there. "Ready for bed, now?" Ken asked. Omi nodded through his yawn.

"Don't know why…" he said as he exhaled. "All of a sudden I got sleepy." Ken stood and stretched.

"All right," he said. "Bedtime for me, then, too." Omi watched him return the chair to the desk.

Clank!

Omi and Ken jumped a little at the unexpected sound at the window, Omi hitting his head as he did. Ken looked over to him as he rubbed his head.

"_Itai_…" he said.

"You okay?" Omi nodded.

"Uh-huh. What was that?" Ken shook his head.

"I don't know… It came from outside." Omi got up and moved silently towards the window. He pushed the TV stand over and away from in front of the window. He pulled up the shades, unlocked the window, and then opened it. He lifted the screen and looked out.

"What on earth…?" he murmured. Ken went over to him. The window opening was too small for them both to fit through so Ken leaned over him. It was impossible to see much through the darkness.

"What is it?" Ken asked.

"Nothing… I think."

"Let me look." Omi moved so that Ken could take a look. "That's odd," he said, but then he noticed the tree branches swaying near the house. "It's probably just a branch or something." Ken came back into the room and closed the window.

"Probably," Omi said. He took off the shirt to his pajamas to sleep in his white t-shirt. "I'm going to bed now," he said. He crossed the room to his bed and sat down.

"Okay, Omi," Ken said, walking over to the door. "We can talk about other things soon, okay?" Omi nodded.

"Yeah." Omi laid down and pulled the sheets over his shoulder. "Good night."

"Sweet dreams." Ken flipped out the light and left. Omi reached down and stroked Pomme gently.

"Night, Pomme-_chan_…" he murmured. He closed his eyes and fell asleep that way.

Creak. Creak. Creak. Omi frowned and curled up under the covers a little more. What was that noise? He turned over onto his back and faced the sloping ceiling. Everything was dark and his exhaustion made it hard to move and think about things. The creaking noise stopped, but then Omi heard Pomme shuffling in his bed.

"Pomme-_chan_?"

"Omi?" a new voice asked. Startled, Omi lifted from the bed quickly and hit his head on the sloped ceiling again.

"_Ite'_!" he whispered sharply and he felt the depression of the bed near him.

"Careful, Omi," the voice reassured, and Omi felt arms around him.

"Na—Nagi?" Omi asked carefully. Nagi nodded.

"It's me, Omi…" Omi swallowed hard and felt his heartbeat quicken.

"What…what are you doing here, Nagi?" he asked. Nagi pulled back slowly and stroked Omi's hair. Omi's eyebrows lowered.

"I want you to come away with me, Omi…" Nagi said quietly. Omi shook his head, backing up a little.

"Nagi…"

"Will you? Schuldig and Crawford…everyday, they make me so crazy, Omi… Please, tell me you'll come with me."

"I told you before I can't do that, Nagi… I can't leave."

"Why? Omi, it's okay. You don't have to worry. You and I, we'll be all right. We don't have to do this dirty work anymore; it can just be me and you."

"But…I'm happy here, Nagi. How…how did you get in here? How did you know how to find me?" Nagi didn't respond right away.

"I followed you…home that day…"

"Nagi…"

"Omi…?"

"Nagi, I don't know what happened in the past, but right now I know I'm a member of _Weiß_. It's my duty to hunt you."

"You wouldn't…" Nagi said. He took Omi's hands in his. "You wouldn't. You're supposed to come away with me, Omi. You're supposed to be with me."

"Nagi…" Omi said, shaking his head. He hadn't the slightest clue what Nagi could be thinking. "Nagi, I can't do something like that. I know that we used to be friends, but—"

"We weren't just friends," Nagi said. His hold on Omi tightened. "We weren't. You and I…are supposed to _be_ together, Omi. You told me you wanted to go away with me." Omi pulled his hands away from Nagi.

"I don't know what happened, Nagi," he said with great irritancy. "But if you don't stop and get out of here, I'll have to hunt you." Nagi stood up from the bed.

"You…really don't remember…?" he asked, disbelieving. "You just…_forgot_ about me? I waited all this time… I came all this way… And you're just sitting there feigning ignorance, telling me you're going to hunt me. Like I'm some kind of dog." Pomme barked from down below and Omi saw Nagi look down at him. Omi felt like something bad was going to happen. He quickly reached down to pick up Pomme, but as he grasped the small puppy, he felt him slip from his hands.

"Nagi…?" Omi gasped. Pomme made a noise of discomfort. The light flicked on and Nagi stood before him, tightly gripping Pomme by the back of the neck. "Stop it!" Omi went to attack him when he felt an immense pressure hold him down on the bed.

"Do you remember?" Nagi asked, tightening his grip.

"Nagi, don't!"

"I'll crush him," Nagi said, shaking Pomme like he was a doll. "I'll crush him, Omi. Do you remember what you promised me?"

"Nagi…please." Nagi squeezed harder and Pomme yelped in pain. Omi fought harder against the pressure that was holding him down and was almost able to stand. Then Nagi scowled at him and the pressure against Omi was so great, it forced the air from his lungs.

"I'm sick of people walking over me," Nagi said. "All of my life, I've had to deal with it. I exist. I matter, Omi. You promised me that you would never hurt me, Omi!"

"I remember," Omi gasped, lying for the sake of living. The pressure eased slightly and he gasped in air.

"Do you?" Nagi asked, sounding as if he didn't believe him.

"People…picked on you when you were younger…" Omi said. "And it hurt you… I…I was sad and I didn't want you to hurt anymore." The pressure eased and Nagi loosened his grip on Pomme. "I don't want you to be mad. When I was with you…I had forgotten about _Weiß_ but that doesn't mean that I don't like those guys…"

"So then…you'll come away with me, Omi?" Nagi asked. Omi could breathe but Pomme looked in distress. Omi took in a sharp breath and nodded. Nagi relaxed, bent and set Pomme on the floor. He walked the few steps over to Omi and cupped his chin in his hand. He leaned close to him and kissed him softly on the side of the lips. Omi felt tears gather in his eyes.

"Come with me, Omi."

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Please review,

kaj


	11. Confrontation

Hiya! It's been longer than I thought it would be… Hopefully, everyone passed a good holiday! Happy New Year!

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The air was becoming cooler and crisper. Soon, snow would blanket the earth and darkness would be most prominent. Soon, in the cover of night, they would pay. Blood for blood.

M11: **Confrontation**

Aya had just begun to crawl into bed when he heard it. It was so faint, he thought it was his imagination. He went to his window, opened it and looked out. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but he heard Ken and Omi's voices above him. He stood and listened to them talking, both trying to figure out what the strange noise had been. Aya heard the window shut, so he closed his own. He walked backwards to his bed and stood watching through the window for any signs of activity. Soon he heard the stair door open. Had one of them come down to inspect the outside? Aya moved quickly to his door and heard Ken knock.

"Aya…it's me." Aya opened the door with haste.

"Who's out there?" he asked. Ken shook his head and came inside the room.

"You heard it, too?" he asked. "I wanted to talk to you about it. Something hit Omi's window and we checked it out but we didn't see anything. Omi's going to bed now…"

"Is it them?" Aya asked, in the tone of voice that made Ken nervous. He knew he was referring to _Schwarz_.

"I don't know. We didn't see anything."

"They wouldn't need to make their presence known to toss something at Omi's window." Ken nodded.

"You're right."

"I'm going to keep watch," Aya said. "Omi's window is right above mine." Ken nodded.

"Good," he said. "What should I do?"

"Sleep lightly," Aya said. "I have the feeling things won't be exactly peaceful tonight." Ken looked towards the door.

"Should I tell Yohji?"

"Yohji's out," Aya said, and Ken smacked his fist into his palm.

"Damn. He's always out when we need him." Aya put a hand on Ken's shoulder.

"Go to your room," he told him. "I'll come get you if I know something is up, but other than that, try to get some sleep." Ken nodded.

"Right," he said, and he left Aya's room to go to his own. Aya turned back to the window. He was convinced that something was going to happen. He could feel it in his spine. He dressed in his assassin's attire and grabbed his sword. He took another peek out of the window and searched through the darkness for anything suspicious. An hour passed and nothing happened. Aya swallowed hard, refusing to let down his guard. Suddenly, he heard a car on the street and it stopped on their block. Aya waited and heard no doors opening or closing.

It was unusual because it was illegal. Cars were only allowed to idle and park in the driveways. Perhaps someone was being dropped off? Aya turned his attention back to the scene outside his window. He gasped when he heard the sound of Omi's window opening and then, a voice that was not Omi's.

"Climb down, Omi… And be quiet." Aya took off from the room. As soon as he opened his door, Ken opened his. He had on his claws.

"I heard commotion upstairs," Ken explained. How had Aya missed it! Aya took off for the front door and Ken followed him. They ran down the front stairs and to the back where they encountered Omi and the three members of _Schwarz_.

Crawford was grabbing Nagi away from Omi. He shook him by the shoulder and smacked him hard enough that he fell back and hit the side of the house with a thunk. Aya stared at the scene, his voice caught in his throat. Crawford kneeled next to Nagi, gripped him by his bangs and made him look at him.

"This is the end of the line for you, Nagi. This is the absolute last straw. You…"

_Angel_… a voice inside of Aya's head coaxed. _Angel_… Aya looked at Omi. He was shaking his head. There was a flash of orange near Omi, and then Schuldig had his arms around him. Aya went to save him, but then he felt his feet slip from the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ken hit the ground with him. There was an immense pressure holding them down. Aya was barely able to lift his head and see what was happening with Omi.

"You're a naughty thing, aren't you?" Schuldig was saying, squeezing Omi tightly. "Running off in the middle of the night. With the enemy, nonetheless. You've done me proud. Maybe you'd like to reunite with us…how does that sound?"

…_one__ look and you're hypnotized_. Lyrics echoed in Aya's mind. _He'll take your heart and you must pay the price_…

"Leave me alone…" Omi murmured, putting his hand to his head.

"You brought this on yourself," Crawford was telling Nagi. He hit him again.

"Stop it!" Omi exclaimed, then shook his head again.

…_one day you'll find out he wears a disguise_. _Don't look too deep into those angeleyes_…

"Leave me alone!" Omi yelled and started squirming in Schuldig's arms.

"But don't you want to see what happen**s** to naughty little boys who disobey their leaders? I know two kittens who aren't happy about your scheme, Angel." Schuldig lifted Omi's head by the chin and made him face Aya and Ken. "It looks like your lover boy is hurting them…"

"Crawford!" Nagi exclaimed, trying to fend Crawford off. Aya didn't have the slightest clue what the hell was going on. It was hard to breathe and he was dizzy. Ken wasn't moving and Crawford was still beating Nagi. Crawford hit Nagi again and Nagi slumped to the ground.

"Release them."

"No!" Crawford swiftly kicked Nagi in the head and blood spattered from his mouth. "You insubordinate rat! I said let them go."

"Please, Nagi!" Omi cried out. Nagi looked over to Ken and Aya and scowled at them. Then, the pressure dissipated and Aya slumped down in exhaustion. Crawfordstraightened out his collar and turned to Aya and Ken.

"We don't want any trouble," he said, glancing at Nagi. "We're just going to take the kid, and that's it."

"The hell that's it," Aya muttered, trying to balance himself on his arms. "Is…this part of your game, too? Taking Omi?"

"I have no interest in Bombay," Crawford said. "Though I can't say the same for…" Crawford trailed off after noting that Nagi had gotten up and was trying to free Omi from Schuldig's grasp.

"Let him go, Schuldig!"

"_Nigete_, Nagi!" Omi said.

"I'm not leaving without you!" Nagi growled.

"If I wasn't so caught up at the moment, I'd throw up for sure," Schuldig said, catching glimpses of Crawford as he held Nagi back and kept a strong hand on Omi. "You wanna get the kid, already?" Crawford took a step forward, then stopped and looked up. The faint whir of Yohji's wire was barely audible as it clasped around Crawford's neck. Crawford gripped it before it was completely taut, but Yohji still had him. Omi elbowed Schuldig in the ribs when he noticed his grip soften and quickly retrieved a dart once his arms were free. He drove his arm back as hard as he could until he felt the needle pierce Schuldig's skin.

"Ah! You little shit!" Nagi grabbed Omi's arm and pulled him towards the back of the house.

"Omi!" Aya pulled himself up with all his might and limped to follow them. Suddenly, there was a loud clanking noise. The garage door was opening. Aya passed Schuldig who was gripping his leg in pain. He noticed Aya, scowled and pounced on him. Aya flew away from the force of it and hit the side of the house. Schuldig limped towards him, holding onto his leg tightly.

"I should finish you off right now…" Schuldig said. "But…" He grunted in pain and squeezed his leg. "It wouldn't be any fun that way…would it?"

"Screw your so called fun!" Ken exclaimed as he attacked Schuldig with his claws. Aya swore he saw Ken connect, but then Schuldig was gone. Aya looked up in time to see Yohji hit the grass next to them. Crawford ran towards Schuldig, flung him over his shoulder and headed down the block.

"Fuck!" Yohji said. In the distance, they heard the sound of a motorbike and all of their heads perked.

"That's Omi…" Ken said. He took off for the back of the house, but then, Nagi swerved into the street with Omi behind him on the bike.

"_Matte_!" Ken exclaimed, chasing after them. "_Matte_, Omi!" Nagi gunned the engine and sped off down the street.

"Double fuck!" Yohji punched his fist into the ground. Aya collapsed down into the grass, completely numb and helpless. Ken ran back to them and stood in front of them just as powerless.

"What…what the hell just happened?" he asked. "What the hell…?" he shook his head in disbelief. "Shit… I should have followed them… Shit!"

"No," Yohji said. "No…they're…on the bike. If we rushed at them, Nagi's driving would be too erratic."

"So what the hell are we going to do?" Ken said. He stumbled towards the house and sank to his knees. "Aya… Aya, what are we going to do?" Aya gripped at his jacket lapels as the harsh realization that he'd completely let Omi down settled over him. He growled as he got to his feet. He ran to the tree and began to attack it, trying to release his frustrations. There was so much pent up rage flowing through him he could barely see. Yohji and Ken were talking, but Aya heard nothing. He stormed to get his sword and then he returned. He began hacking away at the tree without thought or reserve. He was so frustrated that nothing could bring him down from his rage. And in the back of his mind he heard it, that damned song Schuldig forced him to listen to. That damned song! Aya pictured Schuldig as the tree and pieces of bark started flying. He would get that son of a bitch. Damn to hell he would.

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Please review,

kaj


	12. Manifest

S_earing pain.__ Lost memories of recent times. Heartache. Once he returned to full health, he would seek revenge on the one who did this to him. The one who altered him and his powers._

M12: **Manifest**

"Aya!" Bang, bang, bang! "Aya, open the door!" Omi and Nagi were outside the Kitty in the House. It was dark even with the streetlights, and quiet save for Nagi's panicked actions. Suddenly the door unlocked and opened. Aya Fujimiya, little sister to the lead member of _Weiß_, peered out at them from behind it.

"Nagi-_kun_?" she asked. Then her eyes met Omi's and she went rigid. "Bombay?" she gasped. Nagi stormed into the store and pulled Omi in behind him. Omi stumbled onto the floor.

"Omi-_kun_!" A girl with brown hair flung herself at him and pulled him upright. Her name came to Omi when he looked her in the eyes.

"Sak…Sakura-_chan_?" Sakura came forward quickly and threw her arms around Omi. Omi looked at Nagi warily, but Nagi was busy being scolded by Aya. They had a heated exchange for a few moments in a language that Omi didn't know. He looked to Sakura, who was starting to mother him: brushing through his hair with her fingers, and asking him questions such as had he eaten dinner and was he cold from being outside.

"I'm…I'm fine, Sakura-_chan_…" Omi said. Nagi coldly turned away from Aya. He and Omi made eye contact. "Why did you bring me here?" Omi asked.

"It's the safest place for us," Nagi said. "They won't think to look for us here. There's no reason for me to have brought you here to them." Sakura ushered Omi into a chair and smoothed her hands across his shoulders.

"Ran-_chan_ was so worried about you," she said. "We were all worried about you." Her eyes had saddened, but she was smiling. "I'm glad you're all right."

"I… Thank you." Sakura turned to the others.

"We should go downstairs, just in case. There was an awful lot of noise just now, and someone might come looking to see what happened." Aya nodded. She pulled her night shawl further across her chest as she walked towards them. She gave Omi a look of displeasure upon approaching the door.

"You can…have your old room," she said. Omi wasn't positive he wanted it, with the unwelcome vibe she was giving him. He stood. Nagi followed close behind him and they approached the stairs.

The spiral staircase was cramped and made Omi feel claustrophobic. It was not familiar to him at all, and neither was the room they entered. Aya turned on the overhead light and kept her back to them as Nagi led Omi to a couch.

By the stairs, Sakura asked, "Would anyone like some tea?" Aya inched her body to her and nodded. Nagi and Omi refused. Sakura smiled briefly and left the room. His anxiety feeding off of the tension in the room, Omi put a hand to his stomach.

"We shouldn't have left the way we did," he said. "And I hurt that guy…"

"Are you worried about him?" Nagi asked. "Schuldig tortured you when he had you, Omi." His dark blues irises were flashing with anger.

"I…I know…" Omi said. "I know, but… Still. I don't want them to retaliate on my friends because of what I did."

"They won't. They won't go back there anymore."

"Well, why not?" Omi asked.

"Because you aren't there anymore." Omi shook his head slightly.

"That guy…that guy wants us all dead," he said. "Of course he'll still go there. It's not just me he's torturing, it's them too. And if they find out that we're here… It'll be Aya-_chan_ and Sakura-_chan_, too."

"You see?" Aya said, coming forward in an angered haunch. "He understands. He understands that you should have kept away from here." Nagi faced her, his expression taut.

"So you won't help me protect him?" Aya faltered. "You told me I was always welcome here, Aya. You told me that and I believed you."

"I wasn't lying, Nagi."

"Then why are you so upset?"

"It would be fine if it was just you, but I don't need you bringing trouble here!"

"He's not trouble, he's my boyfriend!" Nagi said. Aya straightened. In a repressed tone, she began to explain something to Nagi in the other language again. Omi looked between them as they exchanged words. Then Nagi took his hand and squeezed it with his last words, as if finalizing something. Aya was scowling at him, and Omi understood her feelings exactly.

"I'll agree for one reason, and that is… And that is because Ran cares for him deeply. I…I can't bear to see Ran hurt and I…won't be the reason why he's hurt ever again." Nagi swallowed and nodded.

"I understand. We'll…we'll stay down here, then." Aya gave them a despondent glance up and down as she sat down on the other couch. Nagi's hand was cold and clammy. Omi felt scared sitting there next to him. He wanted to know what was going on. Why did Nagi bring him to the old flower shop? How did Aya and Nagi know each other? Why didn't he remember this place very well? He'd thought that just about everything important had come back to him. Nagi turned to him and Omi jumped. Nagi's smile was faint.

"I…missed you so much, Omi…" Nagi reached over and kissed Omi on the side of the mouth. Omi tried as hard as he could not to act disgusted. He had once thought he had feelings for Nagi, but in an instant, they had gone. He couldn't love someone who could inflict such pain on a defenseless living being. He realized that no matter what, no one mattered more to him than the three members of _Weiß_ and he had nearly sacrificed them for Nagi.

Sakura returned with tea, but she sensed the tense mood and didn't say much. She fixed Nagi a wet towel and Nagi cleaned his face. Aya was still visibly upset and Omi felt tired from having stayed up long past his bedtime. He couldn't hold back a yawn.

"If you're tired, why don't you go to sleep?" Nagi asked. "The room is just through there."

"What…are you going to do?" Omi asked.

"I'd like to talk with Aya-_chan_ more." Omi nodded. He wanted to do that, too. Instead, he got up from the couch. He glanced nervously at Aya and Sakura.

"Goodnight, Omi," Sakura said. "Sweet dreams."

"Thanks. Goodnight." Quietly, he walked into the room. He turned on the light as he closed the door and looked around. So this was his old room? he pondered. There was nothing familiar about it, but he had the sense that a lot was different from the last time he'd seen it. He quietly searched the room for something electronic he could manipulate, but the room was pretty much bare. There was no way he could get in touch with _Weiß_. He would have to wait, probably until morning, and act while Nagi was asleep. He settled on the bed in the farther corner of the room and sank heavily into the mattress. The sheets were cold and they were black. Black sheets. Omi closed his eyes and faced the door, thinking of one thing only as he drifted off quickly.

Black sheets…

Ken was sitting on his room floor tightly holding onto a soccer ball as Yohji lounged on his bed. In the living room, Aya was still shouting obscenities at the top of his lungs. The entire room was trashed and no matter what Yohji and Ken did, Aya couldn't be stopped. Ken couldn't take anymore of it. Not only did he not know what had happened with Omi, but Aya was completely off the deep end. Ken looked over to Yohji, who was flipping through a sports magazine.

"What are we going to do, Yohji," Ken asked with conviction. "We can't just sit around like this. Omi might be in danger."

"As usual, you've got it all wrong," Yohji said. "We can just sit around like this. We're doing it now, see? And there's no question about it. Omi's in danger big time."

"Then let's do something!" Yohji raised an eyebrow.

"Don't raise your voice at me," he said. "Until Aya calms down, there's nothing for us to do."

"We can plan," Ken said. He gripped the ball tighter. "Damnit! If only I wasn't so weak. Omi would… Omi would…"

"There's no telling what would have happened if you were stronger, Ken. Omi is strong too, but he still managed to get kidnapped."

"He…he didn't have to get on that bike. He could have killed Nagi sitting behind him like that. There has to be a reason why he didn't." Ken steamed about it. "He's not in control of himself. That Schuldig, he's controlling him," he said, pointing for emphasis.

"Let's not forget that Schuldig's kinda incapacitated right now, thanks to Omi," Yohji said. "If Omi was under Schuldig's control, he never would have gotten that poison into him and he never would have let Nagi take him on his bike." Ken perked.

"That's it," he said. "Yohji, that's it."

"What's it?"

"The bike. We can track Omi down by the GPS on his bike." Excited, Ken got up quickly.

"Hey. Aren't you forgetting something?" Yohji asked.

"What?"

"The last time Aya saw us, he flung a vase at our heads and barely missed. You really wanna go out there?"

"I have an idea." Ken went to the door with Yohji on his heels. Taking a deep breath, Ken wrenched open the door and sailed past the living room to the kitchen, exclaiming, "I know where Omi is!" as he zoomed by Aya. Aya's entire body straightened and he whipped towards Ken, but Ken was already out of sight. Aya charged into the kitchen and caught Ken at the sink. He turned him around and pressed him against the counter.

"Where is he?!" Aya shrieked. "Tell me!"

"We need your car," Ken said. "We can pick him up, right now." Aya's entire body was shaking though he was starting to relax. He took a while to digest the words Ken had spoken.

"The car," he said slowly. Yohji looked cautiously around the refrigerator at them.

"We should go Aya," Yohji said. Ken nodded, trying to hide the fact that he was scared. The crazed look in Aya's eyes had gone, so he felt better, but Aya was still squeezing him so hard, his arms were losing blood.

"The car. Right…" Aya swallowed hard. "We've got to hurry. Get your weapons." He let Ken go and started for the back door. Yohji still had his watch from earlier, and plenty of string leftover. Ken retrieved his glove and met them at Aya's car. Aya's arms were tightly gripping the wheel and he faced Ken eagerly as he got into the front seat. It wasn't a good kind of eager. Ken was scared of what would happen if the tracking system somehow didn't work. Since the car was started, he immediately punched in Omi's identification numbers and then leaned back. Soon, a small map popped up on the screen and a red dot showed up where Omi's bike was. Aya understood and started the car, and then he abruptly stopped. Yohji slid off the back seat.

"Aya?" Ken asked. Aya's eyes were burning through the screen and the steering wheel creaked under the pressure of his fists.

"Shit."

"What is it?" Yohji asked. Aya shut off the car.

"He's… He's at the shop. We can't lead them there." Aya slowly looked up at the street.

"Lead them?" Yohji asked. "Like they can follow us. Schuldig was half-unconscious when Crawford left with him, they aren't in any position to follow us, Aya."

"We just can't," Aya said.

"What's our next step, then, Aya?" Ken asked. Aya reached over and grabbed Ken by the nape. Frightened, Ken tensed, but it didn't hurt. He relaxed as Aya shook him gently.

"I need some time," he said. "Just…leave me alone for a while." Aya got out of the car and closed the door. Yohji and Ken watched as he walked into the house.

"He left his keys…" Yohji said. He looked over to Ken. "I'm going to…suggest we do something really stupid."

"What's that? Go and get Omi back, anyway?"

"No." Yohji climbed into the driver's seat. "First we're going to pick up something to eat. Then, we're going to hunt them down."

"Huh? Who, Omi?"

"I just told you no, Ken," Yohji said, starting the car. "_Schwarz_."

"Oh—eh! We can't do that, Yohji! It's too dangerous and Omi and Aya and the girls are counting on us!"

"We have to strike them when they're down, Ken," Yohji said. "This is the best time… it's all up to us." Ken chewed on his bottom lip. "Now let's go get some chow." Yohji started the car and pulled out onto the street.

"I can't eat right now," Ken said. "I'm…freaking out again."

"You've got to learn how to handle stress better, Ken-Ken." Ken gave him an odd look.

"Don't call me that," he said. "Only Omi can call me that." Yohji chuckled at him.

"Speaking of Omi, how do you think he'd feel if he knew you haven't had any dinner?" Ken looked conflicted, then he nodded with certainty.

"All right, I'll do it," he said. Yohji chuckled at him.

"This is why I love rolling with you, Ken," he said. Ken thought it was too tense a situation for him to be laughing, but hearing that from Yohji made him feel better, some how. He sat back and let Yohji drive without nagging him.

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Please review,

kaj


	13. Implosion

Sorry about how long this is taking… I will keep posting in twos and the next post should be soon. Special thanks to emu3 for submitting kaj's 100 hundredth review! :showers with cakes and candies: Arigatou Gozaimasu!

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Ringing in her ears. White snow across her pupils. Brown hair strewn against red rose petals. Blue eyes lost in a sea of soft, white feathers. A shrill, petrified shriek across the distance. A quickened heartbeat. A drop of sweat. And then, morning.

M13: **Implosion**

Yohji drove around the neighborhood of the current listed hideout of _Schwarz_. It was in a well-to-do part of the city that Ken and Yohji rarely saw. Yohji had been there several times to complete odd jobs before he became a member of _Weiß_ and some friends of Ken's lived over there, apparently. One of them threw the occasional party and when Ken wasn't busy with _Weiß_, he would attend them.

Yohji knew that people there usually called to report suspicious activity, so he had Ken remove his jacket and just wear the white t-shirt and blue jeans he had on. There was an empty pizza box sitting in his lap that Yohji improvised as a prop. They pulled up to the end of the block.

"Do I…really have to go alone?" Ken asked.

"You won't be completely alone," Yohji said. "I'm going to be waiting around back for you. Now do you remember what to do?" Ken nodded. He still looked wary. Ken's weak point was that he was not so great at sneaking into places. Since he couldn't be inconspicuous, their only option was to give him a reason to stand out. It was more dangerous, but Yohji's plan would ensure that they both were able to approach the house without suspicion. Yohji need to cheer on his partner in crime to give him courage, so he told him, "I'm counting on you, Ken." Ken smiled very briefly.

"Don't worry, Yohji. I won't let you down." Ken got out of the car with the pizza box in hand. He walked confidently to the address they had been given and headed up the steps. He stopped at the door and pretended to knock. Then he waited. He counted the moments in his head within which he envisioned Yohji on the move. He reached up and was going to fake knock again, and then an imaginary piece of paper caught his attention. He reached down and slipped a real sheet of paper from his front pocket as he did. He pretended to pick it up from the porch, and then he stood and read it.

The note Yohji had written sent him to the back door to deliver. Ken shrugged, still playing the part of delivery man, and walked down the steps. As he started along the side of the house, the front door opened unexpectedly. Ken's heart began to race as he pretended not to notice that it had opened. Yohji had planned to be at the back of the house by this point and Ken couldn't keep him waiting. He hurried along to the back of the house and spotted Yohji squatting at the first corner of the building in the back yard. Ken immediately knelt next to him.

"Someone came to the door," he said.

"Which one?" Yohji asked. Ken had tried hard not to peek and was sure that he hadn't, and yet, he was positive that it was Schuldig.

"Schuldig," he said. Yohji frowned.

"He shouldn't be able to answer the door," he said. He put a hand to his chin. "Were you seen, Ken?"

"No," Ken said, though he couldn't be sure. Yohji motioned for Ken to reposition himself on the other side of him. As he did, Yohji looked down the path. To his surprise, he felt someone pass by him quickly.

"Delivery boy…?" the man murmured in a singsong manner as he approached Ken. His accent led Yohji to believe it was Schuldig. "Didn't you see me at the door? Where are my goodies, delivery boy?" Confused, Yohji didn't know what to say. Schuldig reached out and grabbed Ken's collar. He yanked Ken closer and their noses bumped together. "If it's good and warm, I'll make sure to tip you real good." Was he serious? Yohji looked to Ken, who was just as stunned as he was.

"You don't sound like the guy who ordered," Ken said nervously. "Are you…sure I have the right house?"

"You don't get out much, do you, delivery boy?" Schuldig said. He chuckled and pounced on Ken, knocking him flat on his back. "There is no other guy and yes, you've got the right house." He still had Ken by the collar and was holding his head and shoulders up within the grasp. "Why don't we make this the last stop of the night for you, delivery boy? Open up and show me…just how good your…_product_…can be."

By then, it was obvious to Yohji that Schuldig was not completely in his right mind. What Omi had given him must not have been lethal, but had been strong enough to make Schuldig oblivious to his actions. Yohji didn't know whether or not Schuldig was telling the truth about being alone in the house, but if he was busy with Ken, Yohji could take Crawford on easy by himself. Schuldig was the stronger of the two and he was halfway gone; that was Yohji's motivation for their infiltration in the first place.

Yohji got up and entered the house quietly through the back door. He stood inside a kitchen. The light was on, and the room appeared to be empty. Yohji let his eyes wander around the room, noting very quickly that the place was pretty swank. Yohji knew the neighborhood was a wealthy one, but marble floors and countertops, _and_ stained cherry wood cabinetry? Two commercial stoves, built in dishwasher, trash compactor, fridge, freezer _and_ microwave, all stainless steel? Talk about your lap of luxury.

Yohji started forward, creeping over to the hall silently. As he reached it, he looked into each of the doors he passed. The first was a bathroom, which was empty. The second a closet, also empty. He next encountered a bedroom

The lights were on, but the room was dark because the walls, ceiling and floor were black. There were bottles of liquor and discarded clothes scattered around. Yohji noticed the green pants that Schuldig had been wearing. There was a small hole in the thigh with blood stains around it. The bed sheets were disheveled, pillows were on the floor. Across from the bed on the wall was a dart board with two darts protruding from the center point. There were also darts scattered about the floor. Yohji didn't see anyone, or anything symbolizing _Schwarz_'s case work, so he left to explore elsewhere.

The next room was the living room. The furniture was expensive and well placed. There was art and potted plants around. Yohji was beginning to feel uneasy. How could _Schwarz_ afford a place like this while _Weiß_ had to live so modestly? Yohji took out a pint sized camera and started clicking away. As he worked, there was no sound or movement coming from the inside of the house. He opened drawers and searched through shelves without finding anything of real importance.

Yohji approached the stairs to the second floor and climbed them quietly. He searched everywhere quickly first and it was indeed empty. There was a game room, another bedroom, a closet, a bathroom and a laundry room. He returned to the bedroom. It reminded him of Aya's bedroom because everything matched and was neatly placed with little bits of character here and there. There was a novel on the bedspread near the pillows and glasses on the nightstand. Yohji had first seen this and figured that Crawford was still around. Why would he have left without his glasses? However, with the floor empty, he had no reason to believe he was hanging around. Yohji searched his room, snapping photos at the bookcases and within the drawers again. In the bottom drawer of an armoire was a thick manila folder. Without inspecting it, Yohji unzipped his suit and slipped it inside. After a few more pictures, he moved back into the hallway.

He tugged on the string hanging down from the ceiling and the stairs came down. He steadied them, then began to climb up into the attic. He could smell burning candles and see their eerie, shadowy dance as he ascended the stairs. He lifted himself up and turned to sit down with his legs on the steps when he saw something that nearly made him lose his balance and fall back down to the second floor.

There were photographs pinned and blood smeared all along the floor and walls of the loft. The photos were all of Omi, all taken recently. Some were of him in his room, seemingly alone. Some as he slept. Some as he bathed. Some even as he sat and talked with Yohji, Ken and Aya. The room was lit only by candles. Directly in front of Yohji was a well built shrine to Omi.

There was a large petal shaped piece of plywood painted a light purple. A rectangular blowup of a photograph of Omi walking Pomme was tacked and centered on the petal. The petal had wiry metal arms with hands that held objects that had once belonged to Omi or that Omi might have used: the same type of shampoo, his old hair brush, tattered clothing. Other arms held blue pillar candles, and they had recently been lit. Just below the photograph was a plate full of incense ashes. Two sticks were newly burning in a holder. And just beneath that was a bowl full of a blood red substance. He didn't want to believe it to be blood; there was just so much of it. However, as Yohji shifted to leave he saw that something was floating inside of it. It could easily fit in a hand and was round and purplish. His mouth hung open, fear rising, seeming to seep into his brain. He put a hand to his mouth and backed away from the shrine, further into the loft. Omi was in greater danger than any of them originally thought he was.

He shook his head slowly as he tried to process what exactly he was looking at. He got to his feet and turned around. There was something covered in black clothe behind him. He walked towards it and raised his hand to the fabric. He gripped it, and swallowed back his fear and nervousness of the situation.

He tugged the fabric and it fell loose. It had concealed Nagi's bedroom. The entire back wall was a fresco of Omi in a white tunic and soft, white wings. There was a pad on the floor with a sheet covering it neatly. Yohji was about to look away from it when he noticed a doll lying on the pillow. He leaned for a closer look and saw that it looked like Omi. Pinned to its head was a lock of honey blonde hair. Yohji put a hand over his mouth again and looked around the room.

They were everywhere, little voodoo dolls of _Weiß_ and _Schwarz_. One was hanging over his writing desk in one corner of his room. Yohji stood and approached the desk. It was a doll of Farfarello and it was hanging by a noose around its neck. Yohji shook his head slowly. He wanted to leave. He wanted to get the hell out of there. He took out his camera and snapped random pictures in a hurry, then he took all the papers on Nagi's desk and stuffed them into a small satchel Nagi had left behind.

He leapt down and out of the loft. He hurried out back to find Ken. He and Schuldig were still wrestling about the grass, Ken only wearing his pants. He was desperately trying to free himself of Schuldig, who was somehow too strong for him.

"Yohji!" Yohji deployed his wire and clasped it around Schuldig's legs. He tugged and forced Schuldig away from Ken. Clumsily, Ken got to his feet and stumbled away. Yohji tightened the wire and heard it rip through Schuldig's clothes. He cut the wire from the watch, grabbed Ken by the arm and pulled him to the front of the house.

"We have to go get Omi, now!" Yohji said.

"Yohji…what the…"

"That Nagi is fucking crazy!" Yohji said as they reached the front of the house. "Schuldig won't last long with that wound I gave him… And I don't think that Crawford's our main problem, Ken." Yohji got into the driver's seat of Aya's car and Ken climbed into the passenger's seat.

"What…what?" Ken asked.

"That Nagi is a fucking psychotic maniac," Yohji said. "We have to go get Omi, now." Ken nodded, then tried to close the door. He stopped and looked at Yohji.

"What's that noise…?" he asked.

"What noise?"

Inside a Neighboring Home

From a second story window, the watcher of the scene below had had enough. If those criminals thought they were going to get away, they had another thing coming. She turned from the window and reached for her phone. She had only managed to get the receiver off of the base before an earth shattering explosion knocked it from her hands. Her windows blew in and the ground rocked beneath her. She shrieked and collapsed to her knees. Dogs were barking. Car alarms were blaring. The woman quickly reached for her phone again. What on earth was this world coming to?

_Weiß_ House

Aya was sitting on the couch in the living room staring down at the slats of wood in the floor. He'd cleaned up the mess he'd made as he thought about what was next for them. He had heard Yohji take off in his car and figured that he and Ken would drive around to blow off some steam.

Lately, Aya had found himself at a complete loss. His world, though it had never been perfect, was crumbling. It was in ruins. He had already endured the absence of Omi once and had vowed to never have to go through it again. But Omi had left him. Deliberately? Aya didn't know which scenario made him feel worse: if Omi had truly left on his own or if he had been coerced into leaving.

Tearing up the living room hadn't helped. Yelling at Ken and Yohji made him feel like the devil. Not knowing what to do to save Omi was eating away at him. He wasn't eating right. He wasn't sleeping right. What if Omi would never be the same? What would he do if he never saw the real Omi again, was never able to look into his eyes again and be greeted by a true, naturally blinding smile. An intentional smile. A smile from the heart. Aya gripped at his knees.

Omi was at their old home now. Why? Why would he have gone there? How much of that place was in his memories that he would find himself there? Had Nagi taken him there? Had Nagi brought Omi to their old hideout, the place where Momoe, Sakura and Aya-_chan_ worked? Was it Omi's idea to go there? Why? Why had he made _Weiß_ so vulnerable? Could he really be thinking it a good idea?

Aya knew he needed to act fast. Soon. He couldn't let Omi and the women in his life remain in danger. Would Yohji and Ken return soon? It would be foolish of Aya to act alone. However, it didn't hurt to be ready. Aya stood and went into his room. He undressed and put on another pair of leather pants and a black, sleeveless shirt. He had just slipped on his gloves when the doorbell rang. Immediately suspicious, Aya stiffened and turned in the direction of the front door. Without putting on his jacket, he grabbed a new _katana_ from the set Birman had given him and walked over to his door. He slipped out of it quietly and studied the silhouette outside the large window. The moonlight and streetlights made a small shadow across the living room. From those clues, he knew the visitor was short and tiny.

He left the small hallway and approached the door. The bell rang again. Aya gripped his sword tighter. He felt as if he should be aggressive, but he didn't want to lose control over his emotions. He urged himself to be calm, took a few deep breaths and wrenched open the door. A cloaked figure was standing on the welcome mat. Large blue eyes were staring at him from across the outer door. Though Aya couldn't make out any of her features he knew just from her eyes that it was his younger sister, Aya.

Ran felt heat settle into his legs and he wobbled. His sword slipped from his hand and hit the ground. Many questions and emotions swarmed through his mind and body, but he thought mostly of how small and vulnerable she looked outside in the chilly night air. It was too late for her to be out without protection! Ran started to unlock the door quickly. Suddenly, she came forward and gripped desperately at the door.

"Ran-_chan_." Her voice was strained.

"Aya…" He swung the door open and Aya flew into his arms.

"Ran-_chan_!" Ran closed both doors quickly and wrapped his arms around her. Tears stung the back of his eyes as Aya clung to him. Her hood had come down and he could see the top of her head and her long hair. Her face was to his chest and she was holding on for dear life. "Ran…" she cried.

"Aya…?" Ran had a million questions for her, a million things he wanted to say and do with his sister. Things he had wanted to do ever since she was taken from him. His little sister was finally in his grasp again, finally they both knew of their existence in each other's presence. Ran had longed for the day this would happen, but he also knew that he would have to be the one to instigate it. He was sure that she didn't know that he was alive and well, and that he would have to approach her in order for her to know. Had Sakura gone back on her promise not to tell her? Aya lifted her face to Ran's and sniffed, her cheeks wet with tears. Ran put his hands on her shoulders and shook his head slightly. "Aya…why…why are you here? How did you know…?" Aya shook her head too, and looked away from him.

"Ran…" she said. "I…I have some bad news for you. You have to hear it." Ran walked her into the living room and sat her down on the couch. He reached up and wiped her tears away.

"Aya…I've missed you so much," he said. "I can't believe you're here with me right now…" He took one of her hands and enveloped it within his own. "Aya…"

"Ran-_chan_…" Aya shook her head slightly. "I've…been through a lot since I've woken up and I…I need to speak with you about some things. I've…been watching you the same way that you've been watching me. I…know all about you and about the other members of _Weiß_. I also know about your enemies… The men that tried to kill you."

"Aya…" Ran's eyebrows were wrinkled in confusion. "How?"

"I'm…I'm working undercover for Kritiker, Ran." Ran felt as if he'd been punched in the gut. He put a hand to his mouth and shook his head.

"No…" he said. His visions of her innocent and untainted life were starting to crumble. He never wanted her to get involved with such an organization. He could she have wound up working for them? "Why, Aya?"

"It's because…of…what they did for me when I was asleep all that time. They took care of me, and I wanted to repay them."

"You shouldn't have gotten yourself involved," Ran said, pulling her closer. "This is…too dangerous for you, Aya."

"It is not," Aya said. "It's not, Ran. I've…thought this over very much before. I know why you joined _Weiß_ and I know why you want to continue it. But I have to stop you, Ran. You can't go around killing people, it's just not right. I…I risked coming here tonight to tell you that…I think we should work together in bringing _Schwarz_ to justice."

"No…no, Aya." Ran was shaking his head. "I can't put you through that. I can't."

"Well, I'm not going to back down now, Ran," Aya said. "I've come too far with this, I have to follow through."

"But, Aya."

"Omi… Omi…is…" Ran's eyes narrowed as he leaned down to see eye to eye with her.

"You saw him?" he asked. Aya nodded.

"Nagi Naoya brought him…"

"Omi didn't lead him there?" Ran asked.

"No. I don't think Omi remembers much about the shop."

"How does Nagi know about it? About you?"

"Nagi… I…befriended Nagi in order to find out secrets about _Schwarz_ for the authorities to use against them."

"Aya…" Had Kritiker corrupted her so much? The words being uttered from her lips were making Ran feel sick. He clenched his fists and shook his head in denial.

"I knew that Nagi had feelings for Omi. He told me a lot about their relationship when I let him stay with me under the excuse that Crawford and Schuldig were impossible for him to deal with anymore."

"They were lies?" Ran asked. "Omi is in danger?"

"He doesn't deserve Nagi, Ran," Aya said. "I never thought that Nagi would go so far as to bring him to me, and I don't know what to do with him, Ran. Both of them…assassins. Both of them…so willing to take another human being's life."

"I'm the same, Aya," Ran said, his voice breaking. Aya lowered her head and nodded.

"I know," she said. "I know that you are like that, too, Ran."

"'I don't…deserve your acceptance, or your forgiveness, Aya." Ran ran his fingers through his hair. "I…just…don't deserve you."

"It's not true," Aya said. She clenched at the fabric of her cloak. "You and I…can do this together. You and I can work on this together, Ran. And once…_Schwarz_ is taken care of, you and I…we can start over. And Omi and the others, they won't have to kill anymore, either."

"But…Aya…"

"And we can be together, Ran," Aya said. "I…I…I want my brother back…Ran…" Ran let her hug him again. He squeezed her and rested his chin in her hair. "I love you…Ran." Ran closed his eyes to keep back his tears. His sister was crying and pleading to him. He couldn't hurt her, or deny her anything. He owed her his life and would never hesitate to give it up for her. However, if she wanted Ran back, her innocent and smiling younger brother, then she was in for major disappointment. Ran was gone and there was nothing anyone could do to get him back.

* * *

Please review,

kaj


	14. Repugnance

_A caustic and bitter turn had been taken and it seemed like no way out. However, hope was not lost. There is always light at the end of even the darkest tunnel._

M14: **Repugnance**

Omi had meant to sleep through the night, but as soon as he felt someone near him, he awakened. He remained just as he was, pretending to still be asleep. He could hear clothes rustling. Nagi was undressing. Omi wanted to curl into himself, but he didn't. He continued to feign unconsciousness. Nagi walked across the room to the dresser and Omi heard more clothes being moved around. Then, the footsteps approached the bed. Nagi kneeled next to his back and placed his hands on his shoulder.

"Are you unable to sleep?" he asked. How did he know Omi was awake? Omi wasn't about to get him angry over pretending further, so he acknowledged him by turning on his back to look at him.

"I was asleep until you came in," he admitted. Nagi ran his fingers along his face very gently.

"I'm glad that you're awake now, Omi…" Nagi said. "This way, we can be together without me feeling as if I'm intruding on you." Omi tensed. He wasn't serious, was he? How un-intrusive did he think kidnapping was? For crying out loud…

"You hurt me," Omi said, sitting up. "And you hurt Pomme, too."

"I didn't do anything to Pomme that a mother wouldn't do to her own puppy," Nagi said. How delirious was Nagi, to think a mother choked her own puppies that way? "Now, don't be upset, my love. We're here together now…you and I…" Nagi let his hand fall to Omi's lap and he squeezed his inner thigh. Omi didn't feel well. He was tired and his muscles were sore. Pomme was going without him after having been hurt and all that Nagi could think about was…God knows what was on his mind.

Omi put his hands to his face and started to cry. Nagi pulled away from him. Then suddenly, he got up from the bed. He backed away a few steps; what was he up to? Would he let Omi express his frustrations in peace? Omi heard him come nearer. He grabbed one of Omi's wrists and wrenched it forcefully from his face. Omi gasped in pain and reached to stop him. Nagi let him go. Not a second later, a sharp pain shot through his thigh down to his toes and he cried out.

"Nagi…?" he gasped.

"Will you stop?" Nagi asked. Omi saw it and heard it. There was an electric blue light and a dim, humming noise coming from Nagi's hand.

"Nagi…" Omi sniffed. "What are you—?" Nagi shocked him again. Omi groaned and squirmed away from him, but that only served to corner him in as Nagi inched closer.

"Don't cry, my love. I used to vent through tears, too. But I learned that…tears are only a nuisance. So I won't have you showing this sort of weakness to me. If you cry…" Nagi raised the stun gun, "…I'll just have to make you strong enough to withstand pain…like I am able to…" He motioned his hand forward and Omi cringed.

"Don't!" he pleaded. "I'll stop… Nagi. I'll stop."

"Will you?"

"Yes, Nagi, please. Just put that thing away." Nagi sat back and turned it off. Omi watched as he walked towards where he'd gotten it from. There was no way that that was normal. Stun guns had chargers, but even when charged, they ran out of juice quickly. Had he had the gun charging since he'd last been at the shop? Why would he need to? Had he planned to use it on one of the girls? Or just on Omi?

Omi was frightened and he had to use the bathroom, but he was afraid to let Nagi know. He would probably turn it against him somehow and Omi didn't want to deal with that. He didn't want to be shocked again. Nagi returned to the bed and quickly enveloped Omi in his arms. Omi's nausea was returning; he didn't want to deal with Nagi's advances. But he had pulled a stun gun on him when all he did was cry. What would he do if he threw up? Nagi kissed him lightly on the chin.

"You're shaking…" he whispered. "Did I use too much power, Omi, dear? Well…" He stroked Omi's hair slowly. "That's just going to have to do until you learn to be strong, love." He chuckled playfully and kissed Omi with force on the cheek. "Why don't we just sleep now? It's probably best that you get adjusted to your new home." Omi nodded. If he could just survive the night, he would be able to figure a way out in the morning. Surely Aya or Sakura had something in the apartments that he could use to tell his friends where he was. Omi settled nervously next to Nagi, who clamped him tightly in his arms. Every time Omi moved, Nagi gripped him and raised his head as if to make sure he wasn't trying to leave. Omi stilled himself and waited for Nagi to doze off before he even tried to.

_Weiß_ House

"Aya…?" Aya-_chan_ was standing at the kitchen sink rinsing off two cups for coffee and Ran was standing at the doorway watching her.

"Nagi won't hurt him…" Aya said as she approached the coffee maker. "You can relax, Ran…"

"It's not that…" Ran said, approaching her. "What is that…in your ear?" Aya reached up and touched along her hearing aid.

"Oh, that…?" she asked. "After the incident with _Eszett_, I was hospitalized again for monitoring."

"Yes, I know," Ran said. Of course he would know of her whereabouts. Aya began to pour them some coffee.

"As it turns out…my senses…started to fail me and I had to go through some rehabilitation. It was unnatural for me to have come out of my coma the way I had, and the doctors said that I should expect for even more functions to fail. I still don't understand why. All I know is that…I have to make-do in life only being able to see and touch things 100." Aya turned to him with a mug. "Those were the only two senses that have not been affected by my coma." Ran didn't want coffee, but he took the mug anyway. He stared at his sister as she took her cup to the table. She was taller now, and still slender. Her hair was several inches longer and her features were starting to sharpen. He walked over to her and sat across from her, right by the window. Aya blew gently on her coffee and took a brief sip. Just that little bit seemed to relax her. She looked up at Ran and smiled.

"It's strong," she said. "Even though I can't taste it or smell it…I can still tell that it's strong…"

"I…I am really angry right now…" Ran said, gripping his cup. "But I'm still glad. You're alive…you're walking around and talking to me. You have a strong will and you're still such an intelligent young woman…" He looked into the coffee cup. "You could have died, Aya…" he muttered. "You could have… I could have lost you forever."

"I know…" Aya said. "I thought about that every day in rehab. I'm all right. Being a little hard of hearing is not such a big deal. And Sakura-_chan_… Sakura-_chan_ is my nose for me."

"She can't be involved with them, too."

"Oh, no…" Aya said, shaking her head. "Sakura…knows a lot about you all from her experiences, but she's not working for Kritiker, so don't worry Ran-_chan_." Ran rubbed his eyebrow and lowered his head. "You're worrying," Aya said.

"It's hard not to worry…" Ran said. He looked up at his little sister. She reminded him of their father. Ran rubbed his hand along his chin. Aya gave a heavy sigh.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"This is…just too much to take in one night, Aya…" Ran said. He picked up the coffee and gulped some down. The warm liquid settled quickly in his stomach and he felt his shoulders relax. "Ken…and Yohji should be back soon. Then we can plan on how to go get Omi and Sakura." Aya nodded.

"It would be best if I stayed with her while you all get Omi," Aya said. Ran's eyebrows pinched.

"No," he said. "I…I can only wish now that you'd brought Sakura here with you. Omi can protect himself somewhat against Nagi, but Sakura would be completely helpless. You…you would be in danger."

"How do you expect to be able to get close to Nagi without me?" Aya said. "This is a delicate operation, we can't just rush things now."

"What are you saying, Aya? You know how I feel about this situation. You can't think that I'm going to let you stay involved."

"The decision is not up to you."

"You've done what you could thus far, Aya," Ran said. "The point is to take down _Schwarz_ from the inside and then our job is to assassinate them. You've done what you can regarding Nagi, Aya, and I doubt he'll live to see the sun rise. There's no need for you to go."

"Kri…" Aya swallowed hard. "Kritiker has these…special cells that they can…um…contain criminals with special powers in…" she said. "So…when…when it all boils down, Ran-_chan_…I don't think you'll have to shed blood." Ran closed his eyes and shook his head slowly.

"Aya…there's so much in life that…you probably don't understand," he said. "But we can't let these men walk away from this in any stretch of the phrase." Aya tugged her shawl across her body.

"Hm…" she said. Ran sat back and folded his arms.

"When all of this is over… Perhaps we should just…stop all of this already," he said. "But these men…these men that I work with…they aren't… They can't see themselves as anything else. They will never see themselves as worth more than the killers they hunt and Aya… Aya, your brother is the same way."

"And what of repentance?" Aya murmured.

"Do you think that _Schwarz_ could repent for their sins, Aya?" Ran's voice was heavy. Aya looked to her brother. He was frowning intensely, his brows furrowed in deep thought. He shook his head. "If there is no forgiveness for this sin…then we must bear the weight of our digressions." Aya pushed the chair back and stood. She walked over to the entrance of the living room and leaned against the frame facing away from Ran.

"I love you…" she said quietly. "Do you know that?" Ran watched her as she stood there, wondering what she was feeling.

"I do." Aya raised a hand to her face and was still and quiet for a very long time. Ran drank his coffee, trying to calm his nerves. He wanted to hug her and tell her everything was all right. However, nothing was all right at the moment. Nothing would be all right until after the men of _Schwarz_ were dead. He rubbed his temple and thought about what he could say or do to make Aya stop crying.

Everyone was always crying around him. It was him that had made her cry. It was him that had made Omi cry the last time they'd had a serious talk. He laid his fingers flat on the table and studied them, and he thought about sakura petals raining down on him. He closed his eyes. He wanted her to stop crying. He couldn't hear it, but he could sense it. Hugging her would probably only make her cry harder. Then what could he do? The petals were falling heavier now; his shoulders sunk in relaxation. Then he realized what he needed to do. He needed to do the same thing he'd done with Omi. He had to tell her what it was that she needed to hear most.

Ran stood up from the table and approached her. She lowered her hand and turned her face towards his bedroom as if she didn't want him to find out that she was crying. But he already knew. Ran set his hands on her shoulders and pulled her back into his arms. He wrapped them around her and held her tightly. He rocked her and closed his eyes tight.

"You are my baby sister," he told her, "and you are the dearest thing in this world to me. I love you, Aya, with all of my heart and nothing will ever change the love I have for you. I miss them….just as much as you, Aya. I want to see them again, just the same as you. If you truly believe that I can repent, then I will do everything in my power to atone for my sins." Aya's body was shaking. Ran let her go and she turned and hugged him tightly, her face buried in his chest. And she cried. Harsh, intense sobs. Her hold on Ran never wavered, so he clung to her with as much force.

After a short while, they retreated to the living room. Aya had dried her eyes, but she still sat sniffling and tightly clenching her hands. Ran sat with his elbows on his knees with his hands clasped also. His chin rested on his fingers and he watched Aya intently. She went to the kitchen and made herself a fresh cup of coffee. When she returned, she sat back and relaxed. Ran kept an eye on her as she finished her coffee, not knowing why he felt that if he looked away from her, she would disappear from him.

Another hour passed with no word from anyone. Aya's eyes were drooping and she was fighting to stay awake. Ran stood and called Ken and Yohji. Neither of them answered. Concerned, he let the receiver down and turned to his sister. She was falling asleep sitting up. He walked over to her and gently shook her shoulder. She gave a shudder and a gasp and Ran couldn't help but smile at her.

"Aya, I think it's best if you try and get some sleep," he said. "Okay?" Aya made a pained face; she wanted to argue, but she knew she had no ground. Ran helped her up from the couch and walked her to his room. He opened the door, and heard rustling from near the foot of his bed.

"What's that?" Aya gasped, grabbing onto him quickly.

"Omi…" Ran said sheepishly. "I forgot to feed him."

* * *

Thanks for reading and please review,

kaj


	15. Ministration

_The weight of the world is a heavy burden to carry. No man can possibly grasp the extent of the pain Atlas must feel as he holds their kind and their world in place. Should Atlas fail, the world and everything in existence upon it will also fail. Mankind depends on Atlas; however, what loyalty does Atlas hold for mankind?_

M15: **Ministration**

Yohji stumbled away from the wreck, his legs wobbling with nervous heat. He took in a gulp of air and collapsed onto the yard. He felt someone hurrying up to him. He looked towards them, but his eyesight was clouded from the dust and acrid smoke. They turned him until he was sitting up and asked him a bunch of questions that he couldn't understand. There was a loud ringing in his ears; he couldn't hear much of anything. His body was aching all over and he was hot. He realized after a short time that he kept coughing and that more people had crowded around him. He was being undressed. Yohji blinked and faced the closest person to him. She was female and smelled like flowers. He smirked at her and went to speak, but then suddenly, the lights went out.

Ken was on the other side of the car on _Schwarz_'s yard. He squirmed away from the curb, stopping when he felt a shock run across his spine. He urged himself not to move, though just a few yards away, Aya's car was in flames. He let his head fall onto the grass and watched the smoke rising into the night air. Everything hurt; it was best just to lie still. Someone approached him and kneeled next to him. He looked over.

"Are you all right?" It was a middle-aged woman. Behind her was a young man about Ken's age.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm…I'm okay…" Ken said, though he was still afraid to move. "Someone was in the car with me… Is he okay?"

"The paramedics are with someone now. He was walking, so I think he's okay." Ken nodded, closed his eyes and swallowed hard.

"Jun, go get someone to help him," the woman said. Ken heard Jun's hurried footsteps away from the house. He felt the woman's hand on his shoulder.

"What's your name, son?" she asked.

"Ken…"

"Well, that's a nice name. My name is Eriko. Can you look at me, Ken?" Ken squeezed his eyes shut and opened them. They were sensitive to the air and started to water. "The paramedics should be with you soon. Try to stay with me, Ken." Did she think he would fall unconscious? Ken nodded and looked back up towards the sky. Probably he would have if she hadn't been talking to him. "Ken?" Ken faced her.

"They're putting your friend in the ambulance now, okay?"

"Is he okay?"

"He's just passed out," an approaching EMT said. "They'll do further tests at the hospital." He and two others kneeled next to Ken. One of them strapped something around his neck and then he was lifted twice. The second time, he was moved away from the heat.

"This is Ken," Eriko said, sounding winded.

"I'm Lee. Can you tell me what's wrong, Ken?" Ken blinked at him.

"Um…Aya's car blew up…" he said.

"I mean with you," Lee said. "Are you in any pain?"

"Yeah. My back hurts a lot." Ken continued to answer their questions as they started poking and prodding at him. Then suddenly, they lifted him onto a stretcher. It shook a lot as they got into the ambulance. Ken closed his eyes and relaxed, feeling better now that he was going to get some help. He felt someone take his hand and squeeze it.

"Ken-_chan_?" Eriko said. "I need you to stay with me."

"I'm all right, Eriko-_san_…" Ken said. Eriko brushed some of his hair from his forehead.

"Ken, my son thinks he knows you. Do you know Jun Yamada?"

"Yamada…?" Ken murmured. He swallowed hard and shook his head. "No…I don't think so…"

"I see…" Eriko leaned down towards him. "Well, Ken, I'm going to ride with you to the hospital, is that all right?"

"Eriko-_san_…?" Ken said. The doors were shut and then Lee came and sat near Ken's head.

"You all right there, Ken?" he asked.

"Yeah," Ken said. He shifted as the ambulance siren came on. He looked over to Emiko. She was smiling warmly at him.

"Are you in high school, Ken?" Ken shook his head.

"I…I…graduated last summer."

"Oh, so you're a college kid?" Eriko asked. Ken was ashamed to admit to her that he wasn't a student. She seemed eager to hear that he was in school.

"I…can't afford it," Ken said.

"I see…" Emiko looked at him sadly. Ken felt the pain in his back suddenly. He shifted again and the EMT leaned over.

"My back hurts a lot," Ken said. "Couldn't you…give me something?"

"We'll be at the hospital soon enough, Ken," Lee said. "Are you hurting anywhere else?"

"N—No…" Ken said. He took in a deep breath. "Is Yohji okay?" he asked.

"Is Yohji your friend?" Lee asked.

"Yeah."

"There's no telling the extent of his injuries at this point, but when they loaded him up, it looked like minor scrapes and bruises. He was disoriented so there's a chance of a…possible concussion."

"And me?"

"We're going to do further tests at the hospital. You have some burns and bruises, too."

"Oh… Ok." Lee leaned towards him.

"How are you feeling now?" he asked.

"My back is killing me."

"You just hang in there, kid," he said. "Right now, I'm going to give you a face mask, all right? It'll give you oxygen." Ken nodded and let the man slip the mask on. He kept talking to Ken, reassuring him that they would be at the hospital soon and that the doctors would help him as soon as he arrived.

At the hospital, he was hounded by all types of personnel, everyone asking him questions he wasn't sure how to answer, even though he was sure they were questions had been asked before and had been able answer then. They had cut off his clothes and he was naked now. By then, the pain in his back was becoming unbearable, but no one paid attention to that part of his body. People with masks on were pinching and poking at him and the pain grew in each of the many areas they visited. Everything around him was becoming red. Then, someone told him that he had a foreign body that and they were trying to remove it. Ken's head felt too light to understand them, but he knew his body was not foreign and he didn't want them to take it away. He tried to stop them; the pain throughout his body was reaching a plateau. They put something over his mouth and he calmed down. He was crying and he wanted to wipe the tears away. His arms were suddenly too heavy for him to lift. He tried to find someone to talk to, and someone leaned close to his face and spoke to him. Then, he fell right to sleep.

Another Area of the ER

"Birman?" Yohji asked, startled to see her so soon. She was walking over to his bed quickly, her heels clacking over the sounds of rush in the ER's holding area. Yohji looked her up and down. She was in a short dark red skirt with an unbuttoned white blouse and a black vest. Yohji didn't know which was more appealing, her ample cleavage or her cherry red lips. He had a thing for that shade of lipstick. "You didn't have to get so dolled up, though, babe," he said. "But I'm honored." She stopped in front of him, giving him a comical look.

"As well you should be," she said. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Time?" Yohji asked. "Who cares about the time? I'm hospitalized, you know?"

"Please," she said. "Everyone knows you're one step away from being released."

"What?" Yohji fake coughed. "No, no, I'm sick, you hear? Sick."

"Sick in the head, maybe," Birman said, folding her arms. "You aren't fooling anyone, but if you're going to fake it, at least stop flirting with the entire nursing staff while you're at it."

"Who told you about that?" Yohji said, feeling disappointed that he couldn't play with Birman like he wanted.

"Oh, did anyone have to?" Birman asked. "Anyway, it's how they know you're all right, so let's get going."

"Where?"

"Away from all of this chaos. The nurse will be by so you can sign yourself out."

"All right," Yohji said. He stood up and looked at his IV, then at his clothes. He decided to wait until the nurse took it off before he changed out of the icky gown they'd given him. He looked to Birman again. "Hey, what about Ken? No one would tell me what was going on with him."

"Well, his condition's worse than yours, but they're confident that he'll be all right come morning," Birman said. "So don't worry. We're not worrying."

"What's wrong with him, though? Did he…did he get burned?"

"Oh, nothing that won't heal," Birman said. "He lost a lot of blood when they began to take the glass and metal pieces from his body, but they said that he's doing a lot better now. He'll be all right in the morning." Yohji sat back down and thought it over. He felt sorry for Ken, for the pain he went through, but he knew that if Ken hadn't have done everything that he'd done exactly when he'd done it, they would have both been blown into oblivion. Thinking that brought Yohji's mind to Aya.

As soon as the IV was out, he'd released himself and he'd changed, Yohji got his belongings back. He excused himself from Birman and stepped outside for a long overdue smoke and a call to Aya.

Aya picked up on the first ring.

"Yohji? Where are you guys, I've been calling all morning."

"Hey, I've got a lot of crazy news for you, so calm down and listen good," Yohji said.

"Why don't you come here?" Aya asked. "I have to plan to get Omi back. We can talk about anything while we're getting ready to implement it."

"Well, I think that you should hear me out first, especially if your plan involves Ken's help." Aya didn't say anything for a while.

"Is Ken…in trouble?" Aya asked carefully.

"I need to tell it from the beginning, but I'll be quick. There's a lot I need you to know, so I need you calm and listening, all right?"

"All right." Yohji took a long drag on his cigarette, the bag he'd taken from Nagi's room in his other hand. He wiped some ashes from it as he pictured Aya standing tensely with his phone to his ear, one arm tightly around his chest.

"Hey, you standing up?"

"What? Yeah…why?"

"I need you to sit down with something soft and pliable in your other hand."

"Is it that bad?" Aya asked.

"Oh, yeah." Yohji waited until he was sure that Aya was ready, then he told him in scarce detail about the night he and Ken had had. Aya started of with stifled noises that told Yohji he was listening, and he ended in stone silence. When Yohji finished, the silence stretched.

"Is Birman sure that Ken is all right?" Aya asked, sounding deeply upset. "Has she seen him with her own eyes?"

"I…I don't know, but I believe her when she says he's all right."

"And there's no sign that something's wrong on her, right? Does she look like she's hiding something?"

"No," Yohji said. "Are you all right, Aya?"

"I'll be better once I see that Ken is all right with my own eyes. What you two did was dangerous, Yohji. I…I could have lost you both, you know that?"

"I know…" Yohji said. "But…now…why don't you tell me about what you wanted to say earlier."

"It's irrelevant now… We need Ken well, first." Aya was quiet for a short while. "Yohji?"

"Yeah."

"There's…something else, though," he said. "Listen, I… I have some bad news. Aya is here with me."

"What? Why?" Yohji asked, stepping forward.

"Nagi did bring Omi to the shop last night," Aya said. "He brought him there and Aya…Aya came here to talk to me."

"She contacted you?" Yohji asked. "How…? _How_?"

"She… Yohji… Aya…Aya works for Kritiker." Yohji mouth fell open and his cigarette fell to the ground. He was so stunned, he couldn't form any words. "She's…she's…" Aya's voice was breaking. Yohji shook his head and found himself standing the way that he had imagined Aya doing.

"You can't be serious," he said. "Why the hell would she be doing something like that? What the hell does that mean? What the…?"

"She came here last night wanting to help. I thought we could ambush the shop and get Sakura and Omi out tonight, but…but…"

"If she works for Kritiker, then why did Nagi go to her?"

"He doesn't know."

"How could he not?" Yohji demanded.

"As far as Nagi knows, Aya and Sakura have an innocent involvement in this whole thing," Aya said. "They know about us, but they don't contact us. Nagi convinced Aya that he was through with _Schwarz_ and she befriended him to be able to spy on them. It was through her that Kritiker was able to gather as much information on them as they did. They…they've been using her…" Aya trailed off. "I thought I could keep her here with me," he said a few moments later. "But now she'll have to go back. If Nagi sees that she's gone, he'll know something's wrong. Aya would never wander the streets this late… He knows that."

"This whole time…" Yohji said. "They've been using her this whole time."

"Aya said… Aya said that it was her idea, that she had to beg for the position."

"Nothing excuses the fact that they went along with it!" Yohji said.

"Don't panic on me, Yohji. They're at the hospital now with you, right?"

"I'm outside."

"Alone?"

"Yeah."

"Don't…don't say anything about this to anyone but Ken," Aya said. "I don't want them to know that Aya contacted me or that Omi's been taken."

"How can we keep it a secret?" Yohji asked. "Omi would already be here if he knew what happened to Ken."

"We'll think of something," Aya said. "And I'll tell Aya. I don't want Kritiker to know what happened tonight besides what you and Ken were up to. Think of a good excuse why, just in case."

"Are we getting ourselves in trouble here, Aya?" Yohji asked.

"As long as we finish the mission, Yohji, it doesn't matter how we go about it."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm…I'm going to get Aya back to the shop. If Nagi sees her gone, he may take it out on Sakura and Omi."

"And then what?"

"I'll sit tight here until you check in on Ken. As soon as you see with your own eyes that he's okay, then you come home and we'll work out our next plan of action."

"All right."

"Remember," Aya said. "Only Ken can know."

* * *

Please review,

kaj


	16. Declaration

_Outside of the usual interruptions, everything seemed fine. He tried to assure himself that nothing was out of the ordinary. Could his plan go through without a hitch? It seemed unlikely with the goings on as of late, but there was a chance that Lady Luck would smile down on him._

M16: **Declaration**

"Aya-_chan_?" Aya felt a prickling sensation crawl along her spine as she noticed that Nagi was up and waiting for her. He was sitting at the table where they wrapped flowers with his hands clasped in front of him. Aya urged herself to remain calm as she closed the door to the _Koneko_ behind her.

"Nagi," she said in greeting. Nagi's eyes followed her as she started across the room.

"Where have you been, Aya?" Nagi asked and Aya stopped. "I needed you today."

"You…needed me?" Aya asked. She shifted the bag and tried to look him in the eye. "I'm sorry I wasn't here. What happened?"

"Omi…Omi got this strange idea into his head that he's somehow allowed to use the computer in your room."

"He did that?" Aya asked. Nagi nodded slowly.

"It's too bad that he did, but luckily for us, Aya, he was only just able to hack into it when I found him."

"Where…where is he now?"

"I want you to tell me where you were first, Aya. It would have helped if you were here to help me discipline him. Sakura was kind enough to lend a hand in your absence, though." Aya swallowed hard. "Well, Aya? Where were you?"

"Shopping."

"Shopping?" Nagi's eyes fell to the bag.

"We…don't have enough for four people here…"Aya said, lifting the grocery bag she held. "I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep, so I decided to go shopping to get things off of my mind and to…make sure we had enough to feed you two for today." Nagi stood up from the table, smiling at her with his hands held out.

"Well, now, that was thoughtful of you," he said as he approached. He hugged her. Aya closed her eyes and repressed a shudder.

"What…do you want for breakfast?" she asked.

"Well, let's see what you've bought." Aya nodded and brought the bag over to the table.

"How are the others?" she asked, concerned for Omi.

"I left Omi to shower, and Sakura-_chan_ is making sure he doesn't do anything else dissatisfactory."

"Did you guys sleep well?"

"Well enough." Nagi sifted through the bag. "Waffle mix? This will do fine. Omi loves to make waffles. Hm… Sausage is good, too. Aya, can Omi make breakfast today instead?"

"Sure," Aya said. Nagi grabbed the bag and went towards the stairs. Aya followed him up to the apartments.

They wound up in the kitchen. Omi was at the table with a steaming cup of tea and a towel over his head. Sakura was still fixing the others' cups. She turned to them and smiled very faintly. Omi kept his eyes averted.

"Omi-_chan_," Nagi said. He dumped the bag onto the table and hugged Omi around the shoulders. Omi stiffened and didn't move. Nagi kissed him on the cheek. "Omi, will you cook today?" Omi nodded, hiding his face behind his hair and the towel.

"_Mochiron_, Nagi…" he said in a wavering voice. "I would love to." Nagi let him go slowly. Omi started to stand, but Nagi forced him to remain sitting by holding him down by his shoulders.

"Before you get started, Omi…" he said, "…there is the matter of what transpired this morning."

"I'm sorry, Nagi…" Omi said. "I…I won't do it again, I promise you."

"It's not enough that you snuck away from me to go find Aya, but you even tried to use her belongings. It hurts me deeply that you were so eager to leave my side, Omi. What was it that you wanted from Aya? What was it that you had to sneak away from me and into her room to get?" Omi shook his head.

"It wasn't…"

"Look at me when I'm talking to you, Omi." Omi raised his face slowly to Nagi. He looked as if he was trying hard not to cry. "I won't forgive you if you lie to me."

"I wasn't there for anything, Nagi, I swear." Nagi grabbed Omi by the front of his hair and tilted his head back with so much force, the chair rocked.

"I warned you," Nagi said calmly. Aya had been watching from the table, she and Sakura both too afraid to do anything. But they both became alarmed when the braid Aya had put her hair in to before she went to sleep at the _Weiß_ house snaked quickly around her neck. She grabbed for it, but not before it wound tightly enough to completely cut off her air supply. Choking in panic, Aya slumped against the table and tried to pull her hair away. It only wound tighter. Sakura reached up to help her; Nagi shot her a glare that stilled her.

At that time, Omi tried to get up from the table. Nagi pulled him back by his hair and swiftly smacked him. Omi toppled over the chair and onto the floor. Aya turned from them and hurried to the dish drain. Her body numbing from lack of oxygen, she struggled to grab a knife from the utensil cup. She tightly gripped the handle and brought it up to cut her hair. Nagi came up quickly behind her and pushed her. The knife cut across her jaw and she let it go. Her heart was beating rapidly against her chest; her lungs were starting to burn. She turned around and saw Nagi glaring at her.

"Na…gi…" she gasped, her voice hoarse. Lightheaded, she fell back against the sink and then sunk to the floor.

"Nagi, please, she's turning blue!" Sakura exclaimed "Nagi!"

"Nagi, don't take it out on Aya!" Omi said. Aya looked up at Nagi, her eyesight blurring. She couldn't feel her finger tips; she could no longer grasp the braid. "Nagi!" Omi's voice was faint, as if he was far away. Nagi was still staring at her and Aya stared back. She stared until she could no longer focus on staring. Her mouth was open; her body was trying desperately to retrieve some air. She was shaking; her eyes were lidding. Something warm was oozing down her mouth and chin. Spots were dancing. There was a loud clanging in her head. The last thing she remembered was that it was all vaguely familiar to her. Somehow, she had a lingering sense that she had experienced this once before.

Ken's Hospital Room

When Ken came to, he was in a hospital room laid up in bed with an IV sticking from his arm and bandages about his body. He blinked down at himself, then up at the door. Yohji was standing there in his own clothes giving him the peace sign.

"Yo." Ken smiled and tried to lift himself, but he felt dizzy. "Hey hey, easy," Yohji said, hurrying over to him.

"Yohji…" Ken said, taking his hand as he stopped near his bed. "I'm glad you're okay. Why…am I so nauseous?"

"It's the anesthesia," Yohji said. "They had to put you under to get some icky things out of you." Ken nodded, blinking his eyes consciously.

"How come you're not laid up, Yohji?" Ken asked. Yohji chuckled.

"Would you rather I be?" he asked.

"No, no…" Ken said. "But you, uh… You got blowed up, too," he said. Yohji leaned on the metal railing of the bed and made a peculiar face.

"Neither of us got "blowed up" thanks to you, Ken," he said. "We really could've ate it tonight if you hadn't heard the ticking."

"Ticking, huh?"

"Yeah. Do you remember?" Ken looked up at the acoustical tile above him.

"No," he said.

"You don't?"

"No." Yohji stood up and squeezed his hand.

"You're not going to pull an Omi on us, are you, Ken?" he asked.

"Pull…an Omi?"

"You've got amnesia…" Yohji moaned. "Ken, please don't do this. Tell me you remember at least something that happened tonight." Ken smirked at him and then chuckled.

"Oh, I remember now…" he said and Yohji sighed his relief. "I'm in some trouble."

"Why do you say that?" Yohji asked.

"Which do you think is worse, Yohji…?" Ken said. "Nearly being molested by your worst enemy, nearly getting blown up and winding up in the hospital or being responsible for having Aya's car blown up…" Ken shook his head and looked helpless. "I need a new job."

"I think we all do at this rate," Yohji said. "But on the bright side, I think I managed to do your molester in. The news said they found a body and I can only think of one person that can be."

"Knock knock, may I come in?" a lighthearted voice asked from the door. Yohji blocked Ken's view of the door, but he recognized the voice.

"Eriko-_san_?" Ken asked.

"The very one," Eriko said. Ken got his first good look at the Good Samaritan who had been kind enough to ride with him to the hospital. He smiled at her. She was a homely looking woman probably in her late 30's with dark brown eyes and hair. She was dressed a house gown covered in a house coat that was passable for wearing out of doors. Ken let her take his other hand. She smiled at him and Yohji.

"I'm glad to see that you've woken up," she said. "Everyone was worried about you."

"Everyone?" Ken asked.

"Oh, the whole team," Eriko said. "You were probably so startled that you didn't recognize Jun. He's the older brother of Yutaka, one of the children on your team."

"Oh, Yamada-_chan_," Ken said, remembering who she was talking about. He was a snaggletooth tot who putted about the field with energy and drive unmatched by his somewhat older teammates. "So you're his mother?"

"Yes. I'm always so busy with work that I'm unable to get to and from the gym when Yutaka needs a ride, so Jun takes him."

"Yeah…" Ken said. "I know…I remember now."

"I'm glad. Yutaka is at a friend's, but they wanted to see you so Jun is on his way with them now." Ken smiled, and then felt a little concerned.

"Is it too early for them to be up?" he asked.

"Too early?" Eriko shook her head. "Visiting starts at 7 and its 7:10 now."

"Really?" Ken sat up quickly. He looked at Yohji. "Aya already knows, doesn't he?" he asked, dread settling over him. Yohji smirked at him.

"Yeah, he know," Yohji said. "But I wouldn't worry so much if I were you."

"Why not?"

"He was more worried about us than anything else. We can start giving him credit now."

"That's just because he doesn't know what happened to the car."

"Ken, it's all over the news. Everybody knows it went up in flames." Ken still looked apprehensive, but he laid back down because he was tired.

"Well, what are we going to do about Omi?"

"Who's this magical _we_?" Yohji asked. "The only thing you're going to do is catch some much needed shut eye, Ken."

"I just slept all night," Ken said. "And I'm worried about him."

"I talked with Aya. He hooked up with Aya-_chan_ and she tells him that Omi's going to be all right." Ken had a million questions pop up from the short amount of information Yohji had given him, but he didn't want to go into a deep discussion about it with Eriko there. He looked over to her. She seemed interested in what they were talking about so Ken doubly decided not to say anything else. A few moments passed, then Eriko squeezed his hand.

"Are you hungry, Ken?" she asked. Ken nodded.

"Actually, I am," he said.

"I'll go talk to the nurse and see what they can do," she said. She turned and left the room.

"So…what will you and Aya do?" Ken asked.

"I'm going to meet with him back at the house soon," Yohji said. "Aya had wanted to go get Omi a few hours ago, but I called him and ruined all his plans. He had to let Aya-_chan_ go back to the house to reduce suspicion on Nagi's part and so now, we've got to rescue all three of them."

"It sounds like so much trouble…" Ken said. "And what about that Crawford guy, what's he up to?"

"We don't know," Yohji said. "But I'm fairly certain that we only have him and Nagi on our hands now." Ken nodded.

"So, will I stay here, or are they going to transport me?"

"There are Kritiker agents stationed here and at _Schwarz_'s hideout," Yohji said. "Aya-_chan_'s keeping an eye on Nagi, so you're safe from him. We'll let you know once we hear from Crawford."

"Good," Ken said. He blinked heavily and sighed. "I want to know what you guys plan to do about Nagi, too. Keep me posted, Yohji."

"I will. Do you want me to wait until Yamada gets back?"

"Could you?" Ken said. Then he thought about what she had said earlier. Did all the kids on the team know by now? "It's nice to know that they're worried about me…" Ken said quietly. "But it's probably not a good idea to let the kids near me, though." Yohji ruffled his hair.

"Don't worry," he said. "You're in good hands. I wouldn't be leaving you unless I was 100 percent positive about that, Ken." Ken smiled faintly.

"I don't think I've ever been this exhausted," he said.

"Well, you've never had to go under before," Yohji said. "Let the drugs do their work. I'd rather be drowsy than in pain." Ken nodded and felt excused. He closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep. He felt Yohji's hand brush back his bangs.

"I'll be back later, Ken," he whispered. Ken nodded and dozed off. What seemed like seconds later, the nurse was shaking him gently.

"Hidaka-_san_," she was saying. "Hidaka-_san_, it's breakfast time."

"Look his eyes are opening!" a young voice near his head rang out. Ken opened his eyes further and caught the eager gaze of Yamada Yutaka.

"Yu-_chan_?" he asked. He looked at the foot of the bed. Another of the children on his team, Araki Genjimaru was leaning on the bed bouncing on his heels. He was the goalie and the younger brother of Araki Hideki. This meant that Araki probably knew, too and that meant that now, the whole team of which he was a member probably all knew too and they, coupled with the large number of children he coached equaled way too many people knowing. Ken cursed a little on the inside, but Genji and Yutaka didn't let him wallow in self-admonishment for long. Now Yutaka was bouncing and they both proceeded to tell Ken about how worried everyone was and how they were happy that he opened his eyes. Ken let the nurse help him sit up and then she put the breakfast tray across his lap. Ken thanked her and when she left his side, Genji hurried over to where she'd been.

"So, are you feeling better, Ken-_san_?" he asked.

"I think I'd feel a little better once I get some food in my stomach," Ken said. Genji nodded and raised a hand.

"Mama says breakfast is the most important meal in the day!" he said righteously. Ken chuckled at him.

"Well my mama says if you eat bad stuff, it can be bad for you," Yutaka said with just as much conviction.

"Well, the hospital doesn't feed its patients bad stuff," Ken said, nodding at the two of them. "So this is going to be an important meal for me."

"Yay!" Yutaka said and he started clapping. Genji noticed him, and got happy and clapped too. Ken chuckled at them again. Then Araki poked his head into the room with Yamamoto and two other members of their team, nicknamed Taka and Shi,crowded behind him in the hall. Ken raised an eyebrow as they all came casually into the room.

"Just in time," Araki said as he approached the bed. He held up a full plastic bag that smelled like maple heaven. "You eat that crud and you'll croak for sure." He pointed at Ken's toast, eggs and bowl of mushy oatmeal.

"Sheesh, you'd think they were feeding a kid with the portions they give you…" Yamamoto said. "And it looks like shit."

"Don't curse in front of the kids," Ken said, shifting his pillow along his back. "You know how hospitals are." Araki sat at the middle of the bed and opened the plastic bag, then the brown bag inside of it. Ken mouth flooded with moisture as Araki passed him a few breakfast sandwiches and then a few hash browns. Taka closed the door partway, and then pulled the curtain in front of the bed partway.

"Good idea, Taka_-kun_," Yamamoto said. "It's only a matter of time before they realize two plus four equals too many visitors."

"Please," Araki said. "The nurses are all googily eyed over Ken, they aren't going to trip if he's got a bunch of hot pals, too." Araki chuckled and smacked Ken's arm. Ken winced in pain, but was too excited about the thought of eating to complain.

"So, how are you, Ken?" Yamamoto asked. "We heard you got blowed up."

"Nah, almost," Ken said. "I'm in pretty good shape, considering."

"Yeah, we were afraid you'd be burnt up," Araki said. "It's good that you're all right. Eat up, okay?"

"Sure thing," Ken said. His mouth felt icky, but again, he was too hungry to care. He wolfed down the first sandwich and listened to the guys going on and on about how everyone figured Ken was doing. Apparently, a lot of them thought he'd at least lost a limb or was horribly burned. Ken started to wonder if those people would be glad to see that he was pretty much okay.

When the nurse came back, she forced them all to leave and scolded them for feeding Ken "disgusting crap." Ken was disappointed that they had to go, but cheered up when the nurse took his tray away, fixed his sheets, fluffed his pillow and upped his medication. He flipped on the TV, turned the volume down and let its drone lull him back to sleep. As he closed his eyes, he heard a peculiar song playing in his head.

_Ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah_… The voices were soft. Feminine.

His eyes clenched tightly; he was too tired to open them though he wanted to. He knew from the moment he heard those opening notes exactly what he was hearing and he feared for what it meant for him.

_Ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah_…

_Ah-ah-ah, keep thinkin' 'bout his angeleyes_…

_Keep thinkin'_…

* * *

Thank you for reading and please review,

kaj


	17. Surreptitious

Mayhem21 brings up a good question and I feel it needs a public answer. When I create characters and have trouble finding a name for them, I select both their first and last names randomly from complied lists of names. It just so happens that Jun Yamada wound up with the same name as an existing character in _Weiss Kreuz_. Sorry for any confusion that may have caused; I should have caught that myself.

* * *

Please enjoy chapters 17 and 18 and I apologize for the delay.

_It often isn't easy choosing where one should place their faith. A loved one. A guardian angel. A higher power. More often then not, it is the kindness and unexpected willingness of an unknown savoir that rescues even the most lost of causes._

M17: **Surreptitious**

Aya and Yohji were on the couch in the living room examining the stolen items from Nagi's room and the photographs that Yohji had developed on the way home. Aya was nervously chewing on his thumbnail as he looked over the pictures.

"There was one for each of us?" he asked, referring to the voodoo dolls.

"Oh, yeah," Yohji said, taking a deep swig of beer.

"And the one who's dead among us eight…" Aya muttered.

"Strung up," Yohji said. "Like it was Nagi's will or something."

"This mural…" Aya said. "The pictures he took of Omi…"

"The shrine," Yohji said. "Let's not forget the shrine."

"I can't think of anything more screwed up than this…" Aya said. "And I brought her back there."

"You didn't have a choice. This is a delicate case we've got going here. We can't let Nagi get riled up over anything."

"This goes beyond normal obsession," Aya said, his brows so furrowed, they nearly met in the center of his forehead. "Omi…is in danger."

"Yeah." Aya rifled through the pages of Nagi's journal.

"Entry after entry…" he said. "His animosity towards _Schwarz_ is borderline manic. What…what could have caused him to become so twisted?"

"Well, if the mind games and beatings weren't enough, try tacking on isolation. Then, he gets Omi as a playmate and Omi promises him everything he's ever wanted."

"But Nagi had to have known that Omi was under Schuldig's influence, he had to know."

"It was too good to be true," Yohji said. "Waaay too good. I mean, this kid's been through it all. Abuse, torture, ridicule, maiming, isolation, starvation. And, let us not forget that he kills people for a living. Imagine the pit of darkness this kid is drowning in. Then, a beacon of light. Omi comes to him like an angel, or something or other, and tells him everything he needs to hear."

"Why does he need to have a doll of him, then?" Aya asked. "Making one is like a curse in itself, why does he have one?"

"It could be old," Yohji said. "I mean, it was on his pillow all nice and neat, not strewn around the room like the rest of us." Aya roughly rubbed down the lower half of his face.

"I just…" He exhaled heavily. "I just…can't stand the fact that those three are there with him, at his mercy."

"Aya said that Omi would be fine, right?" Yohji asked.

"Yes, but how much about Nagi does Aya really know? Just what he was willing to tell her? How could he admit to this stuff to her?" Aya pointed at the pictures. "If she knew about this… If she knew how serious this was, she never would have asked to help them. She would be safe right now, Yohji."

"Look," Yohji said, shifting forward. "Let's not backtrack into the what-could-have-beens, Aya. Right now, we need a plan. So let's put our heads together and figure out how we're going to save them."

"I just want to storm the place," Aya said.

"Oh, yeah, that's perfect," Yohji said, nodding. "Oh, it's not like Nagi's able to hold down two grown men while he's busy being beaten, oh no."

"Cut the damn sarcasm, Yohji." Aya pulled his hands through his hair and scratched his scalp. "It's already mid-morning, but I don't want to wait until tonight to act. But going there…in broad daylight…"

"Well, I suppose we could…try what Ken and I tried yesterday," Yohji said.

"Oh, and get blown up while we're at it?"

"We're not going to get blown up this time," Yohji said. "This time, we're going to use someone as a decoy to get in and tell us how things are going. If we know that Omi is safe, then we wait until tonight to ambush. However, if the decoy senses that things are wrong, then we'll have the decoy create a distraction and rush in."

"It's haphazard."

"But at least we'll see how Omi's holding up."

"We shouldn't act…until it gets dark."

"Even if he's in imminent danger?" Aya folded his arms and sat back.

"Yohji, I don't think that Nagi and Omi will be out and about in the shop. I wouldn't be surprised if the shop was closed today."

"Then the decoy wouldn't work…" Yohji said. "But…I don't see the harm in trying." Aya's eyes fell to the floor.

"Who are you planning to send in there?" Aya asked. Yohji sat his bottle on the coffee table.

"Let me work something out," he said. "You think of a good way to get inside if we have to."

"It's unfortunate that we don't have Ken's help…" Aya said. "I swear, if I'd have known that things were this bad…" Aya gave a heavy sigh. "We should set up surveillance when we use the decoy," he said. "On the way…let's stop by the hospital to see Ken."

"Sure," Yohji said. He got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. Aya continued to look over the material Yohji had gathered.

At the Koneko

Sakura gave a faint smile to the next customer that came through the door. She was a stunning beauty dressed in fancy clothes. Her silky black hair was tied back into an expensive twist. She walked directly over to Sakura and took off her sunglasses. She had narrowed emerald green eyes. Sakura felt intimidated by her, but she tried to put on a happy face. She knew what would happen if she gave any indication that something was wrong.

"_Irasshaimase_," she said with a polite bow. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Oh, yes. Be a dear and fetch some roses. I'd like a bouquet consisting of as many different types of roses as you sell."

"Yes, ma'am." Sakura moved away from her towards where they kept the roses. The woman followed her at a distance, her eyes scanning the store.

"Slow day?" she asked.

"Mornings are generally our slowest time," Sakura said. She began to pick different roses for the woman's bouquet, thinking of the best arrangement for them while keeping an eye on her.

"Are you here by yourself?" Sakura didn't know how to answer that. If the woman was a thief, Sakura would leave herself open by admitting to be alone. However, she didn't want to give too much away about who was in the building with her.

"Oh, no," Sakura said. "There is always at least one other person here just in case we get a crowd."

"I see." The woman kept following her as Sakura continued to gather roses. "Well now, those are so pretty. Do you have some of those little white buds to put in it? I absolutely adore those."

"We do," Sakura said with a short nod. She looked up when she heard the front door's bell go off. Two other women strolled in, these two younger than the woman Sakura was currently helping. Sakura greeted them.

"If you'll just give me a moment to finish a bouquet, I'll be with you shortly."

"Isn't there anyone else here today?" one of the women asked with impatience. The woman near Sakura was watching her expectantly with her narrowed green eyes.

"Of course. Just a moment." Sakura went over to the cash register and picked up the phone. She pressed a series of buttons and spoke in the PA system through the receiver. "Aya, you're needed up front," she said nervously. She hadn't seen Aya since Nagi took her away from the kitchen that morning. He had told Omi that she would be all right, but Omi didn't believe him. And if Omi didn't believe Nagi, then neither did Sakura. Either way, Sakura was sure that she wouldn't be down to help. If she finished quickly, she could move on to help the girls on her own.

She hung up and walked back over to the green eyed woman. The other two women moved along, chattering and giggling amongst themselves. Aya took up the roses and brought them to the table. She retrieved a few sheets of wrapping big enough to accommodate the flowers in the bouquet. She did a mock set-up to show the woman what it would look like and then told her how much it would cost. As she agreed, the impatient woman from before approached them.

"What do I have to do to get some service around here?" she asked. The bells jingled again; this time it was a man. He idled along without asking any questions. Anxious, Sakura nodded to the impatient woman and hurried to the phone.

"Aya, you're needed up front. Please report to the shop," she said. She sat it down and looked at the mean woman. "She wasn't feeling well earlier, so please excuse her."

"Do you want my business or don't you?" the woman yelled.

"Excuse me miss," the man said. "Do you have any tulips?"

"I'm sorry, sir, they aren't in season…" Sakura said. "Ma'am…if you would just wait a little bit longer, I'll be able to help you." The woman scowled at her. Sakura was started to feel overwhelmed. She took a deep gulp, becoming startled when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was the woman with the green eyes.

"You can help her. I can wait." Feeling relieved, Sakura moved off to help the other woman.

"Finally," she groaned. "I need a bouquet, too. Do you think you can manage that?"

"Certainly." Sakura set to work making the woman's bouquet, but by the time she was finished, five more customers had entered and were asking for help. Her adrenaline pumping, Sakura hurried over to the phone and called Nagi's room. He was the last person she wanted to talk to, but she needed some type of help.

"Sakura-_chan_?"

"Um…hi Nagi. I…don't mean to bother you, but there are too many people in the shop right now for me to handle. I don't think we've ever been this busy this early in the morning and I still have to make some deliveries before noon."

"Well, what do you want me to do, Sakura?" Nagi sounded patient and relaxed.

"I don't know… I just need help."

"I see. You were gracious enough to help me earlier, so I will do something for you in return." He hung up. Sakura glanced around at the people in the store. The mean woman and her friend had purchased their flowers and left, but there were still seven people left. Sakura hurried over to the first woman that had entered and continued to wrap her roses.

As she moved over to the register, two men came into the store. The first man came to stand behind the green-eyed woman in line. Sakura rang them up calmly, then moved to greet the newcomer and help the edgiest looking person in the room. She was young, but probably not still in high school. She was frowning and so pregnant, Sakura thought she'd have a different kind of delivery in store for that morning. However, the woman was easy to appease. Once Sakura showed her to the lilies, she was content to look on her own.

Sakura went from customer to customer as quickly as she could, but it was not enough. A few were starting to get hostile and their attitudes were starting to make her stomach hurt. She tried hard to keep her tears of panic back and was about to call for Aya again to calm the customer's nerves when the door to the apartments opened. Sakura whipped towards it. Aya came out with a big smile and began to aid the customers with practiced ease. Sakura manned the register and soon the crowd dwindled to a manageable two.

Aya joined Sakura at the register as one of the customers approached with a potted plant.

"You girls had me worried there for a second," the woman said. She pulled out a credit card and handed it to Sakura. "I had heard that the service here was phenomenal, but I can understand how hard it is with an unexpected crowd." Aya stared at the woman as if she had said something strange. Sakura just smiled and started to enter the card's information. Her eyes fell to the card holder's name. Kudoh Yohji.

Startled, Sakura took a step back. She looked at the woman; the woman nodded knowingly.

"Is everything all right, dear? Oh, you must need identification." The woman pulled out her ID card. Aya and Sakura both froze as they saw a photo of Aya's older brother Ran on the card. Sakura started shaking. "Not enough?" the woman asked.

"It's fine," Aya said. She took the card and continued the transaction.

"I'm glad that everything seems to be in order," the woman said. "Though, is it really just you two working here now? I'd heard that there **were** at least four people that worked here… Males?"

"Oh, no it's just us," Sakura said. "Us and our boss, Momoe-_san_." Out of the corner of her eyes, Sakura thought she saw Aya shake her head no very slightly. The woman seemed to catch it too, and something flickered within her eyes.

"Sign this please," Aya said, handing her the receipt she needed to sign. The woman leaned over and scribbled something onto the paper. Aya checked it against the signature on the back of Yohji's card. The woman had written 'all four here.' Aya gave a quick nod and handed her back the card.

"I'm so glad it went through," the woman said. "I was so afraid that there wouldn't be enough from the limit left, but this is good. The payment I made must have gone through."

"I'm glad," Sakura said. The male customer moved closer to the female trio at the register.

"Yeah, it's a good thing," he said. "I had a problem like that before that really caused a backed up mess, but all I had to do was wait until midnight and everything was just fine." The man's eyes trailed from Aya to Sakura. They were creepy, so Sakura looked away. Aya smiled and nodded to the man.

"Yeah," she said. "That's good to hear. I don't know much about credit cards, but I do hear that they are good insurance of your money's safety, especially over debit." Aya's eyes met both of the customers and they all nodded between themselves.

"Much better safety," the woman said.

"All right, you're all set," Aya said, giving her the ID and receipt.

"Thanks, you're a doll." Aya smiled and bowed to her. The woman returned it, turned and left the room.

"I'm going to go back upstairs now," Aya said. "It looks like you can take it from here."

"Thanks, Aya." The man idled around the store for a few more minutes, and then stopped at the counter to flirt politely with Sakura. Sakura giggled and blushed through his actions and words. Maybe he wasn't so creepy after all. He brought her a pink carnation, which she pinned to her dress. She smiled and waved at him when he left, then she quickly put up the 'Back in 15 Minutes' sign and hurried about to make her deliveries.

* * *

Please review,

kaj


	18. Contemplation

_There comes a time when one is pushed too far. The seams of their existence begin to crack and tear and life as they know it ceases to be. It is unknown whether or not they can be repaired. It is more likely that the broken seams will cause the withering and wasting away of the being they meant to support._

M18: **Contemplation**

Aya knocked gently on the door to Ken's room. The lights were dimmed and the volume on the TV set was barely audible. Aya looked further into the room and saw that Ken was sleeping, as he had been during his first visit. He looked more comfortable now. Aya slipped quietly into the room and walked over to the bed. Ken stirred. His eyes made an attempt to open, and his forehead showed what a struggle it was for him. The nurse had told him that he would probably be out for the rest of the afternoon, but Aya insisted on being able to see him again.

It was never easy watching someone he cared for lying in a hospital bed no matter how comfortable they looked. Working for _Weiß_, it seemed the cycle would never end. He had seen his sister here, Sakura and each member of his team, as well. How much would change if he followed his sister's advice and stopped working as an assassin? How long would it take for him to repent for his crimes? How would he adjust to life beyond his sword?

Aya pulled a chair bedside and sat and waited for Ken to rouse. He thought over Yohji's plan for later that night, when they would return to the _Koneko_. That morning had been beneficial for them. They had been able to see and hear the girls working, and had many eye-witness accounts to their well-being. But something that the most important spy said had made Aya uneasy.

She had said that when Aya-_chan_ had bowed to her, that something was off about her neck. Aya could see from the video that Aya-_chan_ was wearing a turtleneck and had a bandage on her chin. When Aya-_chan_ bowed, her neck was completely covered by cloth and shadow, but the spy was certain that it looked bruised. Because she was finished with her transaction, she didn't want to linger in the shop. The man behind her hadn't been paying Aya-_chan_ as much attention as he paid to Sakura. That was the plan from the beginning, so Aya couldn't blame him for not seeing anything suspicious about Aya-_chan_.

Aya waited about two hours before Ken woke up. He looked at Aya and blinked heavily, then beamed.

"Hey, Aya," he said. "It's good to see you again." Aya gave him an encouraging smirk.

"I'm glad you're all right, Ken."

"Hey, I'm sorry about your car," he said. Aya shook his head.

"Don't worry about that right now," he said. Ken nodded and sank back against his pillow. "Tired?" Aya asked.

"Yeah, a little," Ken said. "Where's Yohji?"

"At home, watching the pets," Aya said.

"Hey, that's good."

"How are you feeling?"

"A lot better. I think the nurse doped me up a little before I went to sleep again, so I'm a little drowsy, but other than that, I'm feeling good."

"They say they want to keep you overnight," Aya said. "Do you think you need to stay that long?"

"Nah. Once my head clears up, I think I should be able to get out of here and go home." Ken sat up and propped himself against the pillows. "A lot of people know that I'm here," he said. "Both of my teams know."

"That's fine," Aya said.

"Oh, okay." They both looked up towards the TV. Ken looked anxious about something suddenly. He put his hand to his head and rubbed it.

"I'll be here with you," Aya said. "Just let me know if you need anything." Ken looked down, then over to Aya.

"What about…what we're going to do for Omi and the girls?" he asked.

"We'll talk about that when you're more awake."

"I'm all right," Ken said. "You and Yohji talked about it, right?"

"You look like you've got a headache. Don't push yourself."

"It's okay, Aya." Aya sighed, telling Ken that he didn't believe him. However, he knew Ken's determination stood for something.

"We set up surveillance earlier on the shop." Ken's dark blue eyes grew wide.

"You did? How?"

"We sat outside and sent in a number of decoys. Aya and Sakura were able to tell us some things through clues… We know that all four of them are still there and that they're all right. Later tonight…we're going to try and rescue them."

"It would be dangerous to go at it with just you two."

"It might be that that's what we have to do," Aya said.

"What about the agents?" Ken asked. "Can't we have them for back up when we go?"

"It remains to be seen whether or not you'll be joining us, Ken," Aya said. "And no, we're not going to be asking the agency for help."

"But—"

"I know that it would be beneficial, but it won't happen." Ken sat back.

"You're mad…because of Aya-_chan_, aren't you?" he asked. "It would be a lot less dangerous, though, Aya. We can't let ourselves down this way. I mean…if we want results tonight, we'll need all the help we can get." Aya's expression turned stony and he didn't respond. Ken hunched over and clasped his fingers together. "I'll be there tonight, Aya," he said. "And although it's not my decision, I'm going to leave you with the suggestion that we use their help."

"They don't know." Ken's eyes flicked as he looked over to Aya.

"You guys…didn't tell them yet?"

"No, and we won't."

"But—" Ken looked down. Aya leaned closer to him.

"Ken…" he began. "After this…I'm not positive that I'll continue to work for this organization." Ken unclasped his hands only to grip at his sheets. He looked away from Aya and didn't say anything. "I can't allow Aya-_chan_ to work under them… I…I have to try and break away from them."

"And what about us, Aya?" Aya rubbed his face and sighed. "I thought we…decided that we were going to keep up with this."

"That was before they poisoned her," Aya said, his voice so low, Ken almost missed what he said.

"I'm sorry about that, but…Aya… Aya, we need you."

"You have a life outside of this more than all of us," Aya said. "Would it really be that hard for you to stop doing this?"

"I don't know that I want to stop," Ken said. "I don't know that it's much of a choice anymore. A commitment…is more than that. I can't just let myself be so wishy-washy with this."

"Are you so dependent on me?" Aya asked.

"I don't want to lose your leadership, Aya. Now that you know that Aya-_chan_ has become involved, you can work towards keeping her separated from it all. It doesn't mean that you have to quit."

"Letting Aya work for them is as big a betrayal to me and to my honor as stabbing me in the back. Knowing what she's been through, knowing the pain she's felt. They took advantage of her and it's completely unforgivable." Ken gave a heavy sigh and hunched even more.

"We'll all have to talk again, I guess," he said.

Omi's Old Bedroom

"Omi-_kun_? I have something I want to show you…" Omi looked over to the door as Nagi crept into the room. He held up a cardboard box as he closed the door with his foot. Omi blinked heavily as Nagi flipped on the light. He had been sitting in the dark for the past two hours chained to the headboard of the bed with an electric shock collar on his neck. He could easily slip from the bed, but if he so much as approached the door, he would be shocked enough to be knocked unconscious. No matter how hard he tried, he could not remove the collar.

He just looked on as Nagi sat on the bed next to him with the box. Nagi opened the top and pulled out a small white doll with no clothes and no hair. Then he removed two at once, then another one. This one he presented to Omi with a smile.

"I have been thinking lately…that for the people who are the closest to me, I shouldn't have to have replicas. I want to give you this, so you can trust me." Omi reached up and took the doll. It was dressed in a mauve vest and green shorts. Its eyes were blue and it had a lock of honey brown hair clipped to its head.

Omi started shaking and he wanted to throw it away, but if he hurt it, he would wind up hurting himself. What kind of whack made voodoo dolls, for goodness' sake? How was he ever going to get out of this mess? Omi looked as Nagi sat the box down. He was still holding the plain doll.

"I didn't think I would need to make one of these for the girls…" Nagi said. "I thought that they were my friends and that they wouldn't do anything to hurt me, but it turns out that I was wrong. First, Aya-_chan_ tries to take you away from me." Nagi sat a small, plastic box on his lap that he'd taken from the larger box. "Then, they both conspire against me today under the guise of running the shop. I knew I shouldn't have let them open today, but it would have looked weird if the shop was closed so suddenly. It would have drawn a lot of unwanted attention." He opened the box to reveal miniature clothes and a lock of Aya's dark blue hair. "I know better now, but it's too late. The damage has already been done. Apparently, the girls took it upon themselves to get help from the customers." Nagi began to dress the doll. "I really thought that I could trust them, Omi." He put a small, tan apron on the doll over her day clothes and then pinned the hair to her head. He looked over to Omi.

"You're so quiet, Omi," he said. "It saddens me."

"Aya never tried to take me from you. Aya doesn't even like me."

"Are you sticking up for her?"

"I hate to see someone get hurt because of me…and you hurt her badly today."

"She broke the rules."

"Don't involve them in this, Nagi. This is supposed to be me and you…and yet you aren't even paying me any attention. You keep focusing on the girls. If you and I got away, then it wouldn't matter what they do or what they say. They couldn't make you angry, or give us away." Nagi lowered the doll. Omi looked at him. "What is it that you like about me, Nagi?"

"What isn't there to like about you? You're sweet and compassionate and you love me. You accepted me…you didn't shun me." Nagi stroked his hair. "You're the sweetest, kindest person I ever met."

"Nagi…"

"What is it, Omi?"

"I'm just concerned."

"About what?"

"About you. About what you did to Aya today just on an assumption and about what you're going to do to her now."

"It wasn't just an assumption," Nagi said. "I know that Aya wants to take you from me. And this isn't based on an assumption, either." Nagi held up the doll. "I watched them today on the surveillance camera and I saw them trying to get help from customers. Aya especially."

"You tried to kill her. I'm telling you, Nagi, if we pack up and get away, you won't have to worry about them. Then, you can just focus on me."

"Where…would we go?" Nagi asked. "I arranged for us to stay here."

"It's tense here and we don't have much privacy. We should let the girls be and find someplace else to stay."

"Oh… That's not a bad idea," Nagi said. "I don't want you to be unhappy." Omi reached over and took the Aya doll.

"We should do it immediately," he said. "So that you don't have to use this against her. I think you hurt her enough for one day. I hate to see people get hurt."

"Okay," Nagi said. "I'll leave them with you while I go prepare the house. You sit tight, Omi. We'll be out of here by midnight."

"And can we bring Pomme, too?" Omi asked. "He gets so lonely and scared when he's left alone."

"We'll see, Omi," Nagi said. He turned out the light as he left the room. Omi gently laid the dolls down into the box with the others, then sat back on the bed and sighed. He let his eyes get settled on the darkness, wondering if he would really have to sit for another couple of hours alone this way.

Although Aya, Ken and Yohji were there, Pomme only seemed the most comfortable when he was with or around Omi. Omi didn't want to go another night without him. He could imagine him being walked and fed, but also very nervous and scared to be without Omi. Omi wanted to cry again, but he urged his tears back. Aya and the others wouldn't let anything bad happen to Pomme, of that he was sure. He was part of the family now. They would do what they could to protect him.

Omi was about to settle into singing to pass the time when he heard shuffling from the right side of the room. Omi stared, blinking as he noticed the silhouette approaching him.

"Omi?" Even though he had seen her silhouette, her voice startled him into jumping. "Omi?" Aya asked again, this time with concern in her voice.

"Aya?"

"Listen. The guys know that you're here. They're going to come here tonight at midnight."

"What?" Omi asked. "Aya, how did you get in here?"

"There are secret passages all around this place."

"So I can get out of here?" Omi asked. "Nagi's gone, right?"

"That's right." Omi quickly got up and started working on separating the bed frame from the headboard. Aya helped him pull the leg of the headboard from the hole of the frame it was settled in after Omi unscrewed the ring that kept it in place. Once it was completely out, Omi slipped the cuff from the leg and settled it back into the ring. He stood and started to follow Aya out, but then he paused.

"Aya, how narrow is the escape passage?"

"It's in the shape of a door," Aya said. Omi scooped up the box of dolls and followed Aya to the closet. Aya made an indiscernible movement and the wall in front of them opened up without a sound. They entered it and walked through a narrow passage and up a flight of steps, stopping when they reached another moveable wall. They wound up in the shop. Omi immediately started for the front door. Aya wasn't following him, so he stopped and turned to her.

"Aya?"

"What are you going to do when you leave?" she asked.

"I'm going to go home," Omi said. "You and Sakura should come with me."

"But what if…what if we get caught?"

"We won't. Nagi is gone, right?"

"How…how are we going to get anywhere?" Aya asked. Omi looked towards the door. Aya took a step towards him. "Omi…I'm scared…"

"I have an idea. I'm going to go back downstairs, but first, I'll need a computer."

"I have a laptop," Aya said. "I'll meet you back there, okay?" Aya went up to the apartments and Omi retraced his steps through the passage. He settled at the bed with the cuff back in place and the box on the floor. Aya had every right to be scared and her fear led to Omi's apprehension about leaving. Even if Nagi didn't know about the secret passage, he had to know there was a chance that Omi could find a way out other than the door to the bedroom. What other traps did he have laid to prevent him from escaping? And what about the girls? What was keeping them here during Nagi's absences?

Aya returned with the laptop about three minutes later. She handed it to him and stood watching as he turned it on. The logo that appeared on the screen was somewhat familiar, but Omi shrugged it off.

"I'll be busy with this for a while," he said. "You go upstairs and pretend we never talked."

"But what are we going to do?"

"We're going to wait for help. It should come sooner now, Aya."

"Right." Aya turned and left the room. It didn't take long for Omi to realize that this was no ordinary computer. It was very similar to the computer that Birman had given him when she gave the other members their weapons back. The only difference was that Omi's computer was personalized and better protected against outside threats than Aya's. How did she manage to get her hands on such an official looking computer? Thinking that made his head start to pound with pain. The laptop nearly slid from his knees to the floor as he gripped his head.

"Crap," he murmured. When the pain subsided, he couldn't remember what he had been thinking about. He disregarded that episode and logged onto _Weiß_' mainframe. From there, he paged each of them at once. Yohji's reply came back quickly, and then a few moments later, Aya's came through. He sat waiting for Ken's, but he didn't get anything from him. Then, a small icon popped up in the corner of the computer. He clicked it. A photograph of Yohji came on the screen as well as two boxes. The upper box was titled 'Balinese' in red characters. The text within the box was encoded. The bottom box gave Omi the choice to reply as Bombay or as Sussex. He questioned the name Sussex and the pain returned. He sat the laptop aside and gripped his head with both hands. Why the heck did that keep happening? He waited it out, then turned to the laptop. He chose Bombay and reentered his password. The encoded words in the upper box turned to kanji.

'Tell us what we need to do.' Yohji had written.

'I'll need all three of you. Ken didn't answer.' Was Omi's reply.

'Ken lost his pager, so he can't. He and Aya are together though. We're waiting for your orders.'

Omi typed: _All right, this is what I_. Suddenly, Omi got a response from Ken's pager and it startled him so much that he sent the incomplete message. Why did the lost pager go off? Not just anyone could activate the page; it was tailored just for Ken to use.

'I think Ken may have found his pager.'

'Not if he's where he should be.'

'I just got a response from it.' Yohji didn't respond for a while.

'I'm talking with Aya. Ken doesn't have it. Are you still at the shop? We can come get you right now, Omi.'

'We need to get the girls out too. Sakura and Aya are in danger. Nagi is out now.'

'We'll be there ASAP.'

'Wait!'

'What is it?'

'Is Pomme all right?'

'Pomme is doing just fine. We'll be right there.' Yohji disconnected. Omi was prompted as to whether or not he wanted to save the conversation and he chose yes. He sent it to his inbox and logged off of the computer. He slid it under the bed and sat to wait for his saviors.

An Undisclosed Location

"We know where our little Blue Eyes is now… However, he didn't answer the page, Crawford."

"Then we're just going to have to intercept them directly, wouldn't you agree?"

"I would." There was a pause. "Are you ready for that?" Crawford removed his glasses and rubbed at the lens with a piece of cloth.

"To stop that little maniac from ruining everything, I'm ready for anything," he said.

* * *

Thank you for reading and please review,

kaj


	19. Redemption

Please forgive me for how long this took to post. I am ashamed that it is already June! I have a bad habit of taking forever to finish a story, but the most important thing is that it's all done. I hope that you all enjoy the conclusion to Angel Eyes!

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* * *

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Turning things inside out was no longer an option. Perhaps he should destroy them all without a single look back. Perhaps he should… Perhaps he might.

M19: **Redemption**

Yohji, Ken and Aya were sitting in a rented car outside of the flower shop. Yohji was in the driver's seat and was dying to get out and smoke. Ken was in the back seat with Aya. He was able to sign himself out of the hospital and be downstairs and waiting by the time Yohji pulled up with the rental. He gave him new clothes and had each of their weapons in the car. It was nearing nine when they pulled up to the surveillance spot that Yohji and Aya had used earlier in the day. Ken was still a little drowsy, but he wouldn't admit it to either of his friends. He would work through whatever obstacle to be able to save the three waiting for them inside.

Yohji's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out slowly and received the call.

"Hello?"

"Yohji? I haven't seen anything since the kid left," a garbled voice on the other end said. "You guys here?"

"Yeah."

"What now?"

"Keep look out. You remember the warning signals, right?"

"Sure do."

"All right, then. Later." Yohji hung up and looked over to Aya. "There hasn't been any activity since Nagi left."

"You two ready?" Aya asked. Yohji and Ken nodded. "Let's go." Yohji, Ken and Aya all got out of the car at once and started for the flower shop. Yohji reviewed the course of action in his head. Aya would take the front, he would take the back. Ken would stay outside and hidden, ready to lead whomever came out to safety. Yohji reached the cellar's entry and quickly clipped the latch. He cautiously lifted the left door and looked down into the cellar. He couldn't see past the darkness. With haste, he leapt down into the room and landed on the floor.

He hurried across to the far end of the cellar, dodging around the storage boxes, workbenches and other miscellany in his way. He felt along the wall for the switch that would create an opening for him to reach the first floor through. He found it and activated it. Silently, the wall opened up and he slipped through, pushing the switch so that the wall would close up directly behind him.

He felt along the wall to guide himself up the stairs and to the main room where he would meet Aya. As he opened the door, light shone in from the main room. Immediately suspicious because all of the lights should have been kept off, Yohji sprung away from the opening wall and out of view. He heard the gun go off just as he moved and he felt the bullet as it rushed by him. He scrambled away from the opening and waited. Where was the warning signal?

There were no sounds coming from the room, but it was obvious that the light was on. He felt hot and anxious as he waited for something to happen, something that would tell him what his next move was. Then he heard the footsteps coming towards the opening. Yohji prepared his wire and shrunk towards the darkness near the stairs.

"There are a great deal of things that I foresee," came Crawford's voice from beyond the wall. "While I am not always able to see how or why something happens, the outcome is clear and it never changes. I foresaw that you would dodge…and I foresaw that you would move back towards the stairs. I know your exact location, and there is nothing keeping me from killing you right this instant… Except…"

"What?" Yohji called out.

"Except…you are last." Yohji's eyebrows dipped. He had heard that before, hadn't he? Yohji released his wire from his grip and it wound back into his watch. He walked out towards the opening, exposing himself to Crawford. Crawford had already lowered his gun. He looked at Yohji and smirked.

"What exactly is going on here?" Yohji asked.

"Why don't you tell me how it seems, Kudoh," Crawford said.

"Don't give me any run around," Yohji said. "This has got to end. Either _Weiß _goes down or _Schwarz_, and I'm putting my money on _Weiß."_

"The peculiar bit about that particular situation, Kudoh…is that I do, too." Yohji took a step back. "But first…" Crawford said. "First we had to even the score. Schuldig thought it best to recruit one of you to fight for us in place of our deceased member, however, Bombay proved himself a nuisance. We wouldn't be able to leave you three to our four. So, we graciously gave him back to you."

"Tainted," Yohji said.

"Well, he's recovered more than expected," Crawford said. "Most would take what they could get." Yohji scowled. "So…seeing as how our first plan failed, we went back to the drawing board and discovered that we needed to dispose of you one at a time. We needed to first take out the most obtrusive member, which would be easy, as Angel Eyes was already partially under our command. Next, we would get the most tactful, then the most dangerous, leaving behind the easiest of our prey to scamper and wallow in pity alone. An easy and guaranteed kill you were meant to be, Kudoh." How dare they underestimate his skill so much? "But there was another wrench. You probably assume that…because we are in a dirty business that there is no loyalty among us. Perhaps I was foolish to think that there was. There was a traitor among us, a Judas. Someone giving information to the enemy behind our back… Do you know, Kudoh, which of the two of my remaining members it was?"

"Neither," Yohji said. "As I see it, neither betrayed you in the way that you think."

"You don't consider Nagi's loose tongue a betrayal?"

"He thought he could trust those he confided in. Nagi wouldn't play games with you. If he wanted to hurt you or Schuldig, he'd have done it with his own hands."

"Yes…that certainly is true…" Crawford said. He rubbed his nose as if it was running. "It is true."

"Are we going to fight?" Yohji asked, stepping towards him. "I don't have time to sit around chattering with you. The meat of the matter doesn't mean as much as the completion of the mission." He gripped the end of the wire in his teeth and pulled the watch from his mouth. "Are you ready?"

"I already told you, I'm not going to kill you. I very well can't allow you to kill me, but I won't attack you." Yohji took the end of the wire into his other hand.

"But, why?" Yohji asked. "It doesn't make any sense."

"It makes sense to someone holding the tethered end of a lost cause. I can go no further, nor step back from this. The only thing I can do is make sure that the final vision is realized." The door that led to the apartments on the upper floors opened and Sakura walked out. She didn't acknowledge Yohji, or the situation he was in. As she came into the room, Aya-_chan_ followed behind her, then Schuldig. Schuldig looked over to Yohji and smirked.

"I don't know how you survived that cut I gave you, but it doesn't matter," Yohji said. "I'll finish this."

"Don't you want to know what's become of your beloved teammates?" Schuldig asked. After hearing Crawford tell him that he was last and seeing that Schuldig was alive with both Aya and Sakura in his custody told Yohji that the other three members of _Weiß _were somehow out of commission.

"I'll complete the mission on my own if I have to!" Yohji deployed his wire towards Schuldig and Schuldig reached up to block the attack. The wire wound around his arm and Yohji tugged him forward.

"Stop, Kudoh," Crawford said, moving towards the girls with his gun drawn. Yohji continued to hold the wire taut and Schuldig continued to let it cut through his skin. "You, brown haired girl. Against the wall. And you, you stand behind her." Sakura and Aya followed his advice. Sakura looked frightened. She was shaking and crying now. Aya did as she was told without hesitation. Crawford raised the gun towards the back of Aya's head and stepped towards her.

Yohji realized that he was stuck at that moment. He now knew why Schuldig was letting him hold him. It was to give him little leeway to save the girls. No matter what he did now, he could not get the wire free in time to attack Crawford. A drop of sweat rolled down his cheek and he swallowed hard. Even so, he had to try. Just as he started to clip the wire from the watch, Aya moved. Yohji watched, stunned as she expertly avoid certain death.

She grabbed Sakura by the shoulders and pulled her down while simultaneously lifting her back leg and slamming her foot into Crawford's throat. The gun went off, but the bullet went into the wall. Crawford's body sailed across the room and into a display. It broke under his weight and crashed to the ground, the contents of the multi-tiered shelving landing on top of him.

Aya started towards Schuldig, spun on her heel and kicked at him. He caught her leg. By this time, Yohji's wire was cut and he was free to move. He also kicked at Schuldig, and Schuldig caught him at the ankle. However, he was using his bad arm and his grip was weak. Yohji moved his free leg to sweep Schuldig's legs out from under him, but Aya beat him to the attack. She popped her leg out behind her as she let her upper body sink to the ground and her foot caught Schuldig in the groin on her way down. Schuldig grunted and stumbled to the floor.

Aya immediately sprang up, ran over to Crawford and retrieved his gun. She went over to Sakura and yanked her up from the ground sharply. She turned to Yohji and started for him.

"You used the cellar?" she asked.

"I did."

"You take care of these two," she said. "I'll get Sakura to safety." Yohji nodded and moved towards Schuldig.

Then suddenly, all of the windows of the shop blew in.

Yohji flinched and turned towards the front door. Aya, lead member of _Weiß,_ came sailing into the room. Nagi leapt in behind him and quickly surveyed the scene. When his eyes fell on Aya-_chan_, he growled. Aya-_chan_ had apparently been startled by the glass and had stopped to see what had happened. When she saw Nagi, she turned to run, but before she could reach the basement door, she screamed out in pain. She sank to the floor and gripped her knee. Her lower leg was lumpy and her face showed that she was in excruciating pain.

"Aya-_chan_!" Sakura screeched.

"_Nigete_!" Aya yelled to Sakura. She knocked her towards the stairs to the basement and then grabbed her leg again. "_Naze_, Nagi?!" she exclaimed. Nagi was still growling.

"I'll kill every last one of you!" he yelled. "None of you have the right to interfere!" Yohji turned to Nagi with his wire drawn. Nagi overlooked him as if he wasn't much of a threat, but then Yohji's body lifted and was tossed into the wall behind him. It was lights out after that.

Several Moments Earlier

Aya snuck across the main room of the shop with his hand on the hilt of his sword. There were no sounds in the building, but he was sure all three occupants were still there. He hurried over to the door to the apartments when the door to the secret passage to Omi's room opened. He looked to see who was there. It was Omi.

"Omi!" Aya exclaimed. He tugged him into his arms and then pulled back to look him over.

"Aya…" Omi murmured. He reached up and touched his collar. "The girls are coming down through the back," he said. "I have to get this off before I can leave." Aya moved him into the moonlight and quickly found the release mechanism. The collar popped off and toppled to the floor. Aya took Omi by the arm and ran with him out of the shop. He hurried him across the street to where Ken should have been.

"Ken?" he whispered. There was no answer. Aya swung Omi around to the front of him and had him kneel behind a car.

"I can help," Omi said, realizing that Aya wanted him to stay put. "I have a few darts with me."

"Just stay here for now," Aya said and he took off to the back of the shop. Omi swallowed hard and looked around for Ken. Who he saw instead made his skin crawl. Crawford walked straight into the front of the building and the lights came on. Omi wished there was some way he could warn Aya. As he stood up, he felt cold fingers grip the back of his neck.

Aya reached the cellar. Omi had told him that the girls would be coming out the back but the only thing Aya could see was that Yohji had safely made it in. He looked down into the darkness of the cellar, unable to make out anything or anyone. He stood back up and looked towards the street where he had left Omi. Ken was standing right next to him, shrouded in darkness. Aya took in a sharp breath.

"Ken!" he said. "What are you doing here?" Ken's response shocked Aya to the core. He lifted his right arm and swiftly hooked Aya, who went stumbling to the ground.

"Operation Angel Eyes will be a success…" Ken said in monotone. He reached down and unsheathed Aya's sword. He tossed it into the cellar, and then lifted Aya by the collar. He added pressure to the release on his glove so that the claws extended partway and he tucked them under Aya's chin. As they began to walk, the closest claw pierced his skin.

"Ken…"

"One more word and I'll kill you, Abyssinian." Aya steeled himself as they walked into plain view. Aya looked towards the car where he'd left Omi and he felt Ken's eyes staring at the same spot. Then his hold loosened. "Shit. The brat is here." Ken tugged Aya towards the front of the building. When they rounded the side of the building, Aya spotted Omi and Nagi a few feet away, staring silently at each other. Nagi turned very slowly to them and Omi's eyes followed.

"Ken-_kun_!" Omi exclaimed.

"Let him go, Schuldig," Nagi said. Ken released Aya and tossed him to the ground. Omi immediately went to his side.

"What's gotten into you, Ken-_kun_?" he asked. Aya quickly got to his feet.

"Schuldig is controlling him," he said.

"We're all here…" Nagi said. "So then it's perfect…" Nagi looked at Omi. "We can definitely break free of them tonight, Omi," he said. "And then there won't be anything keeping us from fleeing this world together." Omi stiffened. Nagi stepped closer to him. Aya clutched Omi tightly and pulled him away.

"You won't lay a finger on him." Nagi smirked.

"I'll see you all in hell," he said. Omi felt Aya move behind him; his hands slipped from his arms. Aya went flying into the shop through the windows and Nagi leapt in after him.

Omi followed Nagi into the building through the front door. Nagi grabbed the unconscious Aya by the jacket lapels and pulled him up. "Omi belongs to me!" he screamed in his face. He hit him and Aya slumped to the floor again.

"_Yamete_, Nagi!" he exclaimed. "Just stop!" Ken rushed in after him.

"Omi!" he called out. Nagi turned to the both of them. Then he looked to Schuldig.

"Do it after all!" he ordered. Schuldig's body lifted from the ground. "Follow through with your plan, or I'll crush you!" Schuldig leered at Nagi, and then looked at Ken. Ken's body straightened out and he walked into the room towards Yohji. "Make him do it!" Nagi exclaimed. Omi stepped to Ken's side and tried to hold him back.

"Don't Ken," he said. "Don't."

"Omi, step away from him," Nagi said.

"Nagi, you've got to stop this chaos," Omi said. "I told you we could get away from here, so let's go."

"You think I don't know that they'll be back for you?" Nagi asked. "We can't be peaceful unless every last one of these scum are obliterated!" Nagi looked to Schuldig. "Do it!" Ken reached behind himself and removed the gun tucked into the back of his pants.

"Ken!" Omi pushed him and Ken stepped away. He looked at Omi, then at Yohji. "Stop Ken!" Nagi grabbed Omi by the hair and pulled him away.

"Don't interfere!"

"Don't do this, Nagi!" Ken turned his gun on Yohji and moved closer to him. Yohji was slumped against the wall, unconscious. Omi tried to get away from Nagi, but he could feel his hair being pulled out as he struggled. He wouldn't break free of that tight grip. Ken cocked the gun and started to pull the trigger. Omi hurriedly retrieved a dart and tossed it at Ken. It hit him in the thigh, but it was too late. Bang! Ping!

"No!" Omi exclaimed. "Ken!" Suddenly, Nagi let Omi go. Omi stood up straight and tried to run towards Yohji to help him, but stopped when Nagi let Schuldig go. His body fell to earth with a crash; blood oozed from a wound at his side. He had been shot. Ken had already dropped his gun and now slumped to the ground from the effects of the 'Sleeping Beauty' dart Omi had hit him with. Yohji wasn't bleeding as far as Omi could tell. What the heck had happened? Then he heard a rattling noise and both he and Nagi looked to Aya-_chan_.

She was sitting on the floor, trembling fiercely, her gun still pointed upwards. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and she looked downright delirious. Omi realized what had happened. In an attempt to save Yohji, Aya had fired at Ken to knock the gun from his hand. That ping was the sound of the bullet hitting the metal of Ken's gun. The bullet had then ricocheted from Ken's gun and into Schuldig's body, inflicting a fatal wound. Aya let out a dreadful whine.

"Oh God…" she cried. "Oh God…" Nagi knocked the gun from her possession with his powers and approached her. Omi pounced on him, and they both fell to the floor. Omi got him into a sleeper hold.

"Don't hurt her, Nagi!"

"…turning…on me…" Nagi gargled beneath him. "…s unforgivable." Omi applied more pressure. Nagi swung his head back and it hit Omi's chin. Omi's teeth clattered and his head snapped back. Nagi was free of his grasp moments later. He grabbed Omi by the neck and slammed him to the ground.

"I will never forgive you for turning on me!" The grip was so tight it felt as Omi went numb immediately. But he was prepared for this with a technique he had used few times before. He slipped a needle from beneath his tongue to the top and held it steady with great difficult. All he needed was one more breath, just a single breath. Nagi lifted him and knocked his head against the floor. Omi nearly bit off the tip of his tongue, but managed to hold the needle steady. "I'll destroy everything," Nagi said. "I'll destroy everything!" Things in the room began to lift from the ground around them. "Everything!" Nagi shouted. "Everything!" Omi was beginning to realize that Nagi wasn't going to let him go, but for some reason he couldn't fathom, he did. And the moment he let go of Omi's throat, Omi gathered a breath in through his nose and exhaled it across his teeth, tongue and lips. The needle shot out and stuck Nagi in the neck—off target, but effective nonetheless. Nagi grabbed his neck and gasped. His eyes burned into Omi's even as they rolled up into the back of his head.

"O…mi…" he breathed. Then he slumped over and hit the floor along with everything floating in the room.

Omi gulped in air and rubbed his neck as he sat up to look around the room. Aya-_chan_ was the only other conscious person there, but she was fading fast. Omi tried to muster the strength to move, but he was so exhausted from lack of breath, moving made him feel dizzy. He settled back against the leg of the table behind him and tried to get himself together. As far as he knew, Schuldig and Nagi were dead and the members of _Weiß _were still alive. Aya-_chan_ was alive. But what about Sakura?

The door creaked open and Birman hurried in, gun drawn.

"Omi!" she exclaimed. Omi pointed at Aya-_chan_.

"Help her," he said. He pulled him up from the floor and leaned against the table. Men dressed in protective gear and black clothing stormed into the room. One of them grabbed Omi and helped him out of the shop. The street was full of vehicles and was swarming with people. It was noisy; how long had they been out here? Omi didn't recall hearing anything while inside the shop, but he should have been able to. As the agents helped him into a car, he looked around to see if he could get a better grasp on the situation. Then he saw her.

Sakura was talking with great animation to a female agent in plain clothes. Omi felt relief as he slid into the car. Another plain clothed woman slid in next to him on the other side.

"What happened in there, Bombay?" she asked. "We knew you guys would have to go all out to defeat _Schwarz_, but sheesh!"

"It's a long story," Omi said. The woman fingered his hair.

"You've got quite a knot," she said. "Should I call another ambulance?"

"No, no," Omi said.

"You're sure?" the woman asked. "We'll need a complete report from you, all right?"

"Of course…" Omi said. Then the woman stepped out of the car. Omi looked down as he thought about her words. He would make a report, all right, but it would be far from complete. This was the first time Omi felt that his report would need the input of the other three members. Just how much would they reveal about the end the _Weiß _versus _Schwarz_ saga?


	20. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"_Irasshaimase_!" Omi greeted the new wave of high school girls jamming their way into the bakery, which at this point was standing room only. The Kitty in the Bakery had only been open for a week before news spread about the four handsome young men working there. Omi was happy to oblige the girls with small talk, recipe swapping and as many pastries as their diets allowed them to indulge.

"_Kawanai__ datte okaeru_!" Ran grumbled, trying to clear the area before the register so that their actual customers could make their purchases. Yohji was flirting and Omi was chatting with the girls with excitement, but Ran was glaring extremely hard. The room was so loud that Ken could barely move, but he did notice male voices among the squealing girls. Ken always found that amusing. The only reason that guys came around was either because of Omi or because of Aya-_chan_. However, everyone had learned their lessons. While Ran didn't fret about girl's flirting with Omi, the last guys that went near him and Aya-_chan_ quickly got a boot to the bottom and a face full of asphalt.

Aya-_chan_ and Ken swirled around serving coffee, tea and smoothies to the customers, Ken barely making it back to the counter alive. He constantly had to re-smooth his hair, retie his apron and re-button his shirt. Yohji seemed to encourage the girls' rowdy behavior especially now that all of the men working in the bakery were old enough to respond, but Ken had other things in mind—sports being number one.

"Hey, Ken!" he heard Araki's voice sail across the room from the front doors. Araki and Ken's other teammates were an exception to the rule when it came to male customers. While the others paid their bills, Araki and his teammates always assumed their orders were compensated because they were friends with Ken. That, and the opening of the bakery was due entirely to the Yamamoto family.

Ken turned to see his friends. Araki was there with Yamamoto and Genjimaru was perched on Araki's shoulders. The first table automatically cleared, as was custom when Yamamoto entered the building. The three sat down just as Ken made it over to them.

"Nice to see things are booming as usual," Yamamoto said.

"Nice for you…not so much for me," Ken said, and then he chuckled. Yamamoto reached up and fingered along the newly unclasped section of Ken's shirt.

"I beg to differ," he said. Ken raised an eyebrow at him and glanced over to Araki.

"Three orders of Omi's famous rocky road brownies, please," Araki said. Ken nodded and patted Genji on the head.

"Coming right up," he said. When he approached the counter, Omi already had the order ready, including three cups of hot chocolate. "You shouldn't spoil them," Ken said.

"It's my pleasure. We wouldn't have any of this if it weren't for him. This is like a dream come true!" Ken grinned as he took the tray, thinking about Omi's words.

Ken felt as if he'd never seen Omi shine so much. In the past, when they lived above the _Koneko_, Omi was an okay cook, but he had always had a penchant for baking. Every now and then, he would get into a baking kick and make cake, or cookies, or brownies, and they always went over well with his housemates. None of them knew, however, how much Omi truly enjoyed baking.

He was enrolled in the fall semester at a medium-sized culinary school where he was majoring as a pastry chef and he worked closely with the store's hired baker, Wataru, who was Momoe's youngest son. He would get up at four in the morning to be able to learn all the tricks of the trade from Wataru, a veteran to the business. Omi never complained and he never lost the sparkling gleam in his eye.

Ken lifted the tray high above his head as he went back over to the table. Genjimaru's eyes lit up as he saw the brownies and he reached for one before Ken could sit the plate down. Araki smiled at him and then at Ken.

"Yum!" Genji said, after taking a large bite.

"Just like Nonni's," Araki said. Ken waved at them.

"Enjoy, guys!" he said. As he turned to walk away, Yamamoto grabbed his wrist.

"When do you get off, Ken?" he said.

"That's a loaded question around these parts," Ken said, glancing at the eager faces leaning close to him.

"Then call me," Yamamoto said. "We'll hang."

"You got it." Yamamoto let him go and Ken slipped away from him. He returned the tray to the front and Omi took it from him.

Omi turned around to sit the tray amongst the others, listening dutifully to the enthusiastic voices behind him.

"A box of truffles, Omi-_kun_!"

"Omi-_chan_, the pecan trellis!"

"The mocha cheesecake, Omi!"

"Can I have your number?" Omi glanced at Ran's scowl as he turned back to the counter. He stuck his tongue out at Ran, who then visibly relaxed.

"Coming right up!" Omi said with a large grin. Ran handed him the box of truffles, which he quickly wrapped in a sheer, purple and blue ribbon, a trademark of the bakery. He sealed it with a golden logo and handed it back to Ran.

"I still don't know what you were thinking," Ran said, ringing up the girl who was still ogling Omi. "A bakery. Us?"

"It's going well so far," Yohji said, sliding up behind them to dispense drinks.

"We need to dwindle this crowd, the storm's picking up."

"People 'round these parts love this kinda weather," Yohji said. "And so do I. Just look at all these scantily clad honies in their cute little jackets with the fur. It's just magical, this season." Ran nearly rolled his eyes.

"School's almost out for me, Ran-_chan_, so I'll be home in the evenings from now on," Omi said, handing him the boxed trellis.

"Are you trying to cheer me up," Ran asked, continuing his transactions.

"Yep, and judging from those goose bumps on your arm, I think it's working."

"There's a draft," Ran said.

"My ass," Yohji said as he left to deliver the drinks. Ran gave a sideward glance to Omi, a rather suspicious glint in his eye.

"Yeah," he said. Omi gave him the container with the cheesecake. A girl leaned over the counter.

"You guys should start a kissing counter," she said with a 100 yen coin poised between her pointer and middle fingers. "What d'ya say, Omi-_kun_?" She waved the yen, and then grinned.

"Sorry, Sayaka-_chan_," Omi said. "If you want a piece of me, you'll have to stick with the desserts I made."

"Then how about your number, cutie?"

"Now that can be arranged." Ran looked down at him quickly. Omi pulled out a folder piece of paper and held it up by the corners as she held up the yen. Her eyes widened as if she couldn't believe it. Omi chuckled and handled it to her. "Please, give me a call," he said politely. In the circle around Sayaka, things became quiet as the patrons gaped in disbelief. Then came the stunned voices from here and there about the bakery.

"He…he gave her his number."

"Who did?!"

"Omi did!"

"To Sayaka!"

"Why her?!"

"Isn't Omi Ran's boy?"

"He just gave her his number!"

"No way!"

"Omi did!"

"No way!"

"Sssh-sssh-ssssssssh!" Sayaka's best friend Yumari hushed up the crowd. Sayaka remained stunned with the paper.

"Open it, don't just stand there!" Yumari ordered. Sayaka looked over to her, still gaping. Yumari snatched it from her and opened it herself. Her eyes widened.

"It's a number…" she said and she and Sayaka began hoping up and down. Omi smirked at Ran, whose jaw had tightened in displeasure. Omi winked at him.

"Let me see that!" Takei Ryuuichi, Omi's self-proclaimed number one fan, came up between them and snatched the paper. He read it over and then lowered his hand in disgust. "You would think that Prince Omi would bestow something as sacred as his private number to the likes of you. Anyone who loves Omi knows what this number is for."

"It's Omi's!" Sayaka said. Takei scoffed.

"You're a dimwit."

"It is Omi's!" Sayaka said, standing her ground.

"Dial it then," Takei said, rolling his neck.

"I will!" The entire place hushed down as Sayaka pulled out her cell phone and dialed the number. She put it to her ear and everyone looked at Omi. The phone on the wall rang and Omi smiled as he received the call.

"Kitty in the Bakery, how may I serve you today?" he asked with a chuckle. Sayaka's jaw dropped. Takei smirked at her.

"Wannabe," he said.

"Damn, you got played, girl," someone behind Sayaka said as the noise began to rise in the small bakery again.

"Omi," Sayaka pouted. "How could you?"

"Sorry, doll," Omi said as he hung up. "But my heart belongs to someone already."

"I know, I know," Sayaka said. Omi bumped hips with Ran and chuckled at him.

"I had you going there for a while, didn't I?" he said. Ran just sighed. Omi squeezed him arm and leaned closer to him. "I have to go for a Pomme run. Will you be okay?"

"Yeah."

"Be back in ten."

"Take your time." Omi ducked through the beaded opening to the back rooms. He bypassed the kitchen to reach the doors to the apartments above the shop. He hurried up the stairs until he reached the third floor where he and Ran shared a one bedroom apartment. He slipped off his shoes and apron at the door and bent to pick up Pomme as he scrambled into the room to greet him.

"Hey babes!" Omi said, holding him in his arms. "Ready to go out?" Pomme barked at him. "Will do, cap'n." Omi went through the apartment to the back door where he slipped on his boots and scrambled down the stairs with Pomme. As soon as he opened the door, Pomme leapt from his arms and down into the snowcapped grass where he wriggled and sniffed about with excitement.

Now that he was working and going to school, Omi wasn't able to spend as much time with Pomme as he had been he was first got him. He followed him around the yard, chasing him and throwing things for him to retrieve. Pomme seemed to cherish these times with Omi almost as much as Omi did, though he probably preferred it after the shop was closed when Omi could wrestle and play with him down in the grass. "Tired yet?" Omi asked and Pomme growled at him as if telling him 'not by a long shot.'

Omi continued to run around with him, happy to be free enough to do these types of things. The only commitments he had now were honest and just ones to himself. He was no longer tied down by the weight and uncertainty of _Weiß_ and of its leaders at Kritiker. He was no longer worried about _Schwarz_ and retaliation. He didn't have to bear the endless headaches and odd dreams of working in a factory. And best of all, he didn't have to listen to weird songs and voices in his head.

The only thing that hadn't changed was the constant headache he received every time he tried to open a mysterious file from Sussex in his mailbox online. He couldn't remember how the file got there, and every time he questioned it caused a pounding pain in his head. He was never able to ask any one about it for that very reason and he tried not to think about it. But he let the file sit in his mailbox so that he would never forget about it.

Omi had grown accustomed to not living with Ken and Yohji anymore. They had moved out of their house in the suburbs and all found some place close to the bakery. Aya still lived with Sakura and Momoe at the flower shop. She worked at the bakery part time just for fun. Ken was closer to his gym and was able to get another motorcycle to take back and forth to work. Though they only really got together to run the bakery with one another, Omi still considered himself close with them. He considered them all to be his family.

Ran and Omi ran the bakery primarily. Yohji had found another job that required him to wear a suit and that he was apparently very good at. Omi felt as if every time he saw him, he was wearing something swank and new. He was proud of Yohji, though whenever he saw him in a suit, he thought he looked out of place in it.

As far as Omi knew, Ken, Yohji and he were able to move on and assimilate into society without many hang ups. Ran, on the other hand, seemed to be taking his time getting back into the swing of ordinary life. Not a day went by that Ran wasn't glued to the TV during the news or that he didn't have his head stuck in a paper, disapproving of the societal ills and silently yearning to make a difference in the world. Omi began to worry about him, but he was also still thinking about not so positive topics. Their last job as _Weiß_ left some loose ends he felt had never been specifically handled, but being that he no longer worked for Kritiker, there was no way he would be able to find out how everything was resolved.

Omi was happy to have some semblance of a normal life. Though Ran basically ran everything, Omi was living with him and sharing space with him more closely now, and he was able to learn more about how the world worked. He enjoyed his classes and expanding his mind; he was looking forward to being able to travel freely within the next tens years if profits continued as they were. And he was happy to have his "family" and the support of his friends and neighbors. Things were peaceful and serene in his world. Though he would never forget the darkness shrouding his past, Omi was now basking in the glow of his promising and beckoning future.

* * *

All done! I have tried hard to spot mistakes and irregularities throughout the story before posting these final chapters. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to let me know. As always, thank you for reading and please review,

kaj

And as an added favor, I would like to say a special thanks to Mayhem21 and eMu3 for sticking with me and letting me know how they felt about Angel Eyes at just about every turn. Also a special thanks to SanoUno (who I suppose is now big-bad-omi), whose first review lead to the continuation of Angel Eyes. _Arigatou__ Gozaimasu_, _mina_!


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